No. 12 Georgia Softball Kicks Off 2025 Season Thursday in Orlando

No. 12/14 Georgia (0-0)
at The Black & Gold Classic
Georgia's Tournament Schedule
   Thursday, Feb. 6: vs. NC State (1 p.m.), at UCF (6:30 p.m.)
   Friday, Feb. 7: vs. Illinois (7 p.m.)
   Saturday, Feb. 8: vs. James Madison (11:30 a.m.)
   Sunday, Feb. 9: vs. CSU Bakersfield (9 p.m.)
Location: Orlando, Fla.
Stadium: UCF Softball Complex

Media Information
Streaming: ESPN+
   Play-by-play: Eric Lopez
   Analysis: Alex Powers
Live Stats: GeorgiaDogs.com
Twitter Updates: @UGAsoftball

The 12th-ranked Georgia softball team kicks off the 2025 season this Thursday at the Black & Gold Classic in Orlando, Florida at the UCF Softball Complex. The Bulldogs will take on NC State, UCF, Illinois, James Madison, and CSU Bakersfield on opening weekend.

Follow the Bulldogs
- All games of the Black & Gold Classic will stream live on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Eric Lopez (play-by-play) and Alex Powers (analysis) will be on the call.
- Live stats for each game can be found on GeorgiaDogs.com.
- Live X/Twitter updates will be available on the official X/Twitter page of Georgia softball, @UGAsoftball.

BULLDOGS BULLETIN
Series Histories
NC State
- Georgia leads the all-time series 4-2
- Georgia and NC State have not met since 2014 when the teams met four times that season, three times coming in two days of the NCAA Athens Regional
UCF
- Georgia leads the all-time series 3-1
- The Bulldogs have opened the season at UCF in three of the last four seasons (2022, 2023, 2025)
- Georgia lone loss to the Knights was in opening day in 2022 in eight innings
Illinois
- Georgia leads the all-time series 4-0
- The Bulldogs and Illini last met in 2022 and all four meetings have been in Athens
James Madison
- Georgia leads the all-time series 5-0
- The Bulldogs and Dukes last met in 2020 in Athens; Georgia run-ruled JMU in both games
CSU Bakersfield
- First meeting

Georgia in the Polls
Georgia in the Polls: Preseason
     - USA Today/NFCA: 12
     - ESPN/USA Softball: 14
     - D1Softball: 15
     - Softball America: 17

A Look at What's Ahead
Georgia will host the 18th Annual Red & Black Showcase at Jack Turner Stadium next weekend, Feb. 13-16. The Bulldogs will welcome Michigan, Michigan State, Longwood, and Western Carolina to Athens for the four-day, 12-game tournament. The action begins under the lights on Thursday when Georgia takes on Michigan at 6 p.m.

Coaching Connection
Illinois associate head coach Laura Trout will face off against her alma mater this weekend. Trout was a shortstop for the Bulldogs in 2010 and 2011. She helped guide Georgia to the 2010 WCWS. Trout served as a student assistant in 2012 when Georgia advanced to the Super Regional round while completing her bachelor's degree in journalism.

Backes for More
Lilli Backes is set to be Georgia's number one in the circle in 2025. The Peachtree City native accumulated 18 victories in the circle for Georgia last season with six saves and a 2.68 ERA. In her first season in Athens, Backes worked 183 innings to lead the Bulldogs, racking up 134 strikeouts. She concluded the season top-10 in the SEC in innings pitched, wins, saves, appearances, games finished, and games in relief. Her stellar junior campaign landed her on the watch list for the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award.

Feeling Good
Dallis Goodnight is poised for her senior season, coming off an All-SEC campaign a year ago. She finished as one of Georgia's top hitters, hitting .350 with a .431 on-base clip as a junior. She stole 13 bases. Goodnight enters the season as one of the top 100 players in the country according to Softball America.

Young Pups on Roster
Eleven of the 20 student-athletes on Georgia's roster are freshmen or sophomores. Of that 11, a combination of eight (7 freshmen, 1 transfer) are all newcomers to the roster. Four of the freshmen (Paislie Allen, Tyah Charlton, Esther White, Mua Williams) appear on freshman watch lists by D1Softball and Softball America.

Mike Davenport Joins Coaching Staff
Mike Davenport joined Tony Baldwin's staff as an assistant coach in August. Davenport comes to Athens from North Georgia, where he was the head coach for 24 seasons. He guided the Nighthawks to DII national championships in 2015 and 2023, accumulating over a thousand victories in his tenure at UNG. His head coaching record is an astounding 1,094-280 (.796), and he is a member of the Georgia Dugout Club Softball Hall of Fame (January 2020). He's coached numerous All-Americans, including two National Players of the Year in Courtney Poole (2015) and Kylee Smith (2018).

Heath Hired as Player Development Coordinator
Karly Heath was hired as the program's Player Development Coordinator in August. Heath comes to Georgia following a stint as the graduate assistant at Louisiana on Gerry Glasco's staff last season. Heath was an All-American pitcher and outfielder at Louisiana from 2021-2023.

Construction Completed at Jack Turner Stadium
Georgia recently opened its new $38.5 million softball training facility at Jack Turner Stadium. The new facility features more than 20,000 square feet of student-athlete development space, including a four-lane batting cage with a full practice turf infield, weight room, locker room, team lounge and nutrition space, video room, an athletic training room, as well as a mud room and equipment room. The coaches offices were also renovated in phase two of the construction along with a completely new playing surface and new home bullpen.

No. 12 Georgia Softball Kicks Off 2025 Season Thursday in Orlando

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Players Mentioned

Paislie Allen

Lilli Backes

Tyah Charlton

Dallis Goodnight

Esther White

Mua Williams

University of Georgia Athletics