OMAHA, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary softball team will have a young roster this season, but Coach Carolyn Todd Bray doesn't think that means it will necessarily be a rebuilding year for the Flames.

The Flames open the 2023-2024 season this weekend at the St. Ambrose Dome Tournament. CSM will play four games over the course of two days against St. Ambrose University, Culver-Stockton College, Cornerstone University and Viterbo University.

"This year's team is half returners and half newcomers," Bray said. "That's a unique combination but I still feel like we'll be able to compete in the conference right away. We graduated some talented seniors last year so we knew we needed a strong freshmen class to step in and fill some of those roles. I think it's the strongest freshmen class we've had since I've been here.

"I'm sure there will be an adjustment period for those ladies to make to the college game. But they played really well this fall and all of our ladies are excited about our future."

Last year's team went 4-18 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference and 7-37 overall. Gone from that team are Macy Homes, Izzy Monzon, Morgan Ethen and Mickayla Larsen. Three of those were amongst the team's top five hitters including Homes who hit .314 and was named All-GPAC Second Team.

But several key athletes return including Megan Garcia who led the Flames last season with a .366 batting average and was named All-GPAC Second Team while also being the squad's top pitcher. Sydney Griffin was also one of CSM's top five hitters with a .267 batting average last year.

"We've got strong leadership from our upperclassmen," Bray said. "Having Megan and Sydney return is great and getting Paige Stuck back from shoulder surgery is a huge plus. Senior Savannah Schewe is going to be a key component to our squad and sophomores Daisy Lowther and Kayla Reed will be expected to be significant contributors.

"When we add in the freshmen class it just gives us a lot of options both defensively and offensively. We have more athleticism and depth than in year's past."

Bray said she'll use the early nonconference games to experiment with different defensive combinations. She hopes the Flames will be playing their best softball by the time the GPAC season rolls around at the end of March.

"The GPAC is a tough conference and we'll have to battle each and every day," Bray said. "But we've got a lot of things working in our favor right now. We have a deep pitching staff, our hitting is ahead of where we were last year at this point and I think we'll be better defensively. The ladies are working hard in the weight room and I've been impressed with our team chemistry.

"Our team is excited to start playing games and show everyone what we can do this year."