DALLAS – A new conference means a new opportunity. Following years of dominant success in the Western Athletic Conference, NM State will embark on its first season in Conference USA.
The Aggies will be tasked with earning the respect of their peers this season as the conference announced Thursday that NM State was picked to finish seventh based on a vote of the league's nine head coaches.
The league also announced that NM State's
Riley Carley and
Kendal Lunar were each named to the 2024 Preseason All-CUSA Team, joining a list of 19 other individuals from eight of the nine institutions.
Carley, a redshirt senior from Tucson, Ariz., comes off a season in which she served a pivotal role for the Aggies and earned a Second Team All-WAC selection in 2023. Last season, Carley often found herself in the middle of the lineup and finished the year with a .346 batting average, a .411 on-base percentage and a .750 slugging percentage to rank first among returning Aggies in all three categories.
Additionally, Carley took her game to another level in conference play last season as she batted .372 and logged 14 home runs, 29 hits and 23 RBIs in 24 conference games during the Aggies final season in the WAC. In total, Carley played in 44 of the Aggies 46 games last season while appearing in the starting lineup for each game she saw action in. The outfielder will look to carry her success over to a new conference after finishing last year ranked fourth in the WAC in home runs, third in slugging percentage and 21
st in batting average.
Meanwhile, sophomore
Kendal Lunar will look to build off of an exceptional freshman campaign in 2022. The Alamogordo, N.M., native started 38 games and appeared in 41 contests while slashing .291/.325./.547 and tallied 34 hits, 20 RBIs, six home runs and 12 doubles in her first year as an Aggie. Last year, Lunar's output was good to land her second on the team in doubles, fourth on the team in slugging percentage and fifth on the team in batting average, hits, home runs and RBIs.
Lunar also ranked sixth among true freshman in the WAC in batting average while recording eight multi-hit games in 2023, including her collegiate debut in which she tied a program record with three doubles against Bradley. As a catcher, Lunar also concluded the year with an impressive .989 fielding percentage. The preseason all-conference selection makes Lunar one of just six sophomores to garner preseason recognition.
Carley, Lunar and the Aggies will open their season on Friday, Feb. 9, when they welcome Monmouth for a double header. This season, NM State will play a total of 28 home bouts, including 15 in CUSA play. The Crimson and White will officially make their CUSA debut on Friday, March 8, when Western Kentucky visits Las Cruces for the conference opener.
For complete coverage of NM State Softball during the 2024 season, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of the Aggies – and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Softball), Twitter (@NMStateSoftball) and Instagram (@NMStateSoftball).
| Rank |
School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. |
Liberty (6) |
75 |
| 2. |
WKU (1) |
66 |
| 3. |
MTSU (2) |
60 |
| 4. |
LA Tech |
53 |
| 5. |
FIU |
41 |
| 6. |
Jax State |
38 |
| 7. |
NM State |
30 |
| 8. |
Sam Houston |
26 |
| 9. |
UTEP |
16 |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Isabella Perez, FIU* |
So. |
C |
Key West, Fla. |
| Kendal Lunar, NM State |
So. |
C |
Alamogordo, N.M. |
| Hannah Scheaffer, Sam Houston |
Sr. |
C |
Cypress, Texas |
| Casey Goguts, FIU |
Gr. |
DP/UT |
Jupiter, Fla. |
| Anyce Harvey, MTSU |
Jr. |
DP/UT |
Trussville, Ala. |
| Lindsey Richardson, Jax State |
Sr. |
IF |
Moody, Ala. |
| Ella Whitney, FIU* |
So. |
IF |
Martinsville, Ind. |
| Claire Raley, LA Tech |
Jr. |
IF |
Clovis, Calif. |
| Rachel Craine, Liberty |
Jr. |
IF |
Middletown, Del. |
| Shelby Echols, MTSU* |
Sr. |
IF |
Pearland, Texas |
| Taylor Sanders, WKU |
Gr. |
IF |
Shelbyville, Tenn. |
| TJ Webster, WKU |
Gr. |
IF |
Huntsville, Ala. |
| Kylie Neel, LA Tech* |
Gr. |
OF |
Richmond, Texas |
| Rachel Roupe, Liberty |
Jr. |
OF |
Sharpsburg, Md. |
| Shelby Sargent, MTSU |
Sr. |
OF |
Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
| Riley Carley, NM State |
R-Sr. |
OF |
Tucson, Ariz. |
| Jaliyah Holmes, Jax State |
So. |
P |
Sharpsburg, Ga. |
| Allie Floyd, LA Tech* |
So. |
P |
East Bernard, Texas |
| Paige Bachman, Liberty |
Jr. |
P |
Fredericksburg, Va. |
| Elena Escobar, Liberty |
Jr. |
P |
Spring Hill, Tenn. |
| Katie Gardner, WKU |
Gr. |
P |
Bowling Green, Ky. |
++NM State ++
