2025 Tufts University Softball Season Preview

MEDFORD, MA (February 25, 2025) - In many ways, the 2025 season represents a new era for the Tufts University softball team.

First off, the month of March will be completely different for the Jumbos. For years the team has gone to Florida for a busy week of spring break games to get the season started. This year, Tufts begins its schedule two weeks earlier at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Leadoff Classic this weekend where they will face stronger competition.

The month will continue with games at the Margie Knight Softball Classic hosted by Salisbury University March 15-16. The Jumbos will stay down south to practice during spring break week and play games at Randolph-Macon College March 19 and at Christopher Newport University March 22.

With the team unable to practice outside yet due to a cold and snowy winter in the Greater Boston area, head coach Lauren Ebstein and her staff look to use the challenging new early-season schedule to evaluate where the team is at. Their hopes are that it will begin the process towards playing their best softball come May when they want to compete for a NESCAC championship.

"Our preseason is so much shorter this year, which has put a completely different frame on our season," Ebstein said. "There was so little time for adjustment and changes during the Florida trip in the past. This year we feel like there's so much more room for growth.

"This weekend we're going to go down and play some of the best competition in the country and see what we do well, and see some of the things that we need to work on," she continued. "Then we'll come back and have two weeks to work on that, and then put that to the test again. Then we'll have spring break to do the same thing. Our whole preparation for the beginning of NESCAC play is so different. We're challenging ourselves in such different ways with hopes that we can figure out some pieces of the puzzle as we go."

The Jumbos are led by the return of All-American pitcher Sophia DiCocco, as well as All-Region performers Kaitlyn Perucci, Lauryn Horita and Keriann Slayton. Bela Jimenez, an All-American in 2023, and versatile infielder Haley Leimbach are also key returnees. Seniors Lacey Chilek and Lindsay Neumann and sophomores Heaven Oliva and Fallon O'Connor lead a group that will look to play larger roles as the team comes together. 

Another factor defining the new era of the 2025 Tufts season is the loss of four key players. Josie Steinberg at shortstop, Rachel Moore at third base, Michelle Adelman in center field and Sky Johnson at pitcher were all major factors in last year's fifth-place finish at the College World Series. Adelman, Moore and Steinberg helped the program achieve a 136-35 record and four NCAA appearances over the last four seasons. They were on the last Tufts team to win a NESCAC title in 2021.

With a new-look team in many ways, success in the conference is the primary goal this year. They start their climb towards that on Friday against LaGrange College and Gettysburg College at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Georgia.

Here's a closer look at the Jumbos by position:

PITCHER: DiCocco has already established herself as one of the best pitchers in Tufts history, and she's back for a fifth-year this season. A two-time All-American, she owns a career earned run average of 1.03 including a 0.94 mark last season. She fields her position better than anyone else at the DIII level as a two-time national recipient of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award. The staff is excited about the potential of Chilek, O'Connor and first-year Malin Medeiros to earn innings this spring.

CATCHER: The Jumbos have good depth here with Slayton and Oliva. Slayton started 38 games last year and hit .284 with three home runs and 20 runs batted in. She handled the majority of innings for a pitching staff that led NESCAC with a 1.29 earned run average. Oliva can provide pop at the plate, where she homered three times last season. Together this pair threw out nine of the 14 runners (.643) who attempted steals on the Jumbos last season. First-year Kenzie Sturgill is also in the mix behind the plate.

INFIELD: With the graduation of Steinberg and Moore on the left side, the Jumbos will be exploring new combinations around the infield to start the season. Jimenez at second base is a .329 career hitter who will look to be more of a table-setter offensively for the Jumbos this spring. Leimbach, one of three returnees to play in all 49 games last season, has started at first base the last two years. However, she has value around the infield and could find a home elsewhere. She'll look to reclaim the bat-work that produced a .771 OPS in 2023. Perucci could move from right field into the middle of the infield. Wherever she plays, she's going to hit. She was third in NESCAC with a .433 mark and led the league with 46 RBIs. As mentioned, Coach Ebstein and her staff have several puzzle pieces to work with. At first, O'Connor, like Oliva, could provide some power that the Jumbos need. Slayton could see some time at first, while Oliva is an option at third. First-year Cat Kawabe is a top recruit who could be a factor in the middle infield. The Jumbos also have first-year Abby Chau as a possibility.

OUTFIELD: Like in the infield, a lot remains to be determined in the outfield. Horita, who will see time in left and at DP, hit 10 home runs for the Jumbos las season. It was the most since 2017 for the team. Senior Lindsay Neumann is a career .317 hitter with a .798 OPS in 90 games for the Jumbos. She will look to solidify one of the outfield spots. Depending on what happens in the infield, Perucci could remain in the outfield where she was outstanding last season. Junior Emma Tonies and sophomores Sarah Cullen and Emma Wingate are returning players looking to earn bigger roles. Junior Madi Sewell is back after taking last season off, and first-year Amelia Perri will vie for time as well.