Talent, resilience and consistency.
Those are a few of the ingredients Southern (32-13, 18-6 SWAC) possessed during its historic softball regular season.
There’s another component that’s just as crucial for coach Brittney Williams, who led the Jaguars to a program record for wins in a season and a 17-0 home record.
“This year's team's winning formula?” the fifth-year coach said. “I might sound crazy, but it's literally to have fun. Go out there, compete, get excited, even if someone makes a routine out, because that's one less out that we have to make. Pay attention to detail in the game, but when that gets too strenuous, just genuinely have fun.”
Her team’s culture prioritizes joy, and the Jaguars plan to bring that with them to the Gulfport Sportsplex in Mississippi for the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament. No. 2-seeded Southern will face No. 3 Bethune-Cookman at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the first round of the SWAC Tournament.
The matchup will be a first for Southern this year. The last time it faced the SWAC East division squad was during the 2022 SWAC Tournament, Williams’ first year leading the program. The Jaguars went 1-1 against Bethune-Cookman that postseason.
Williams, who was named the SWAC Coach of the Year, said the message to her team entering the tournament is to play cleanly, dominate offensively and to maintain the standard it has developed through 45 games.
Southern softball’s Laila Clark is top five in batting average, slugging percentage, RBIs, home runs and doubles in the SWAC.
Photo contributed by Amare Walker/Southern Athletics
A significant part of Southern’s success has been the standout play of outfielder Laila Clark, who was named the SWAC Newcomer of the Year. The sophomore is first in the SWAC in batting average (.453) and doubles (14), third in hits (63) and RBIs (56), fourth in slugging percentage (.777), fifth in home runs (9) and 11th in stolen bases (20 of 21).
Clark went to Brusly High School and returned home after spending her freshman season at William Carey, an NAIA school in Mississippi. She also made the All-SWAC first team.
One of Southern’s five other players hitting over .330 is outfielder Asia George. The redshirt senior has spent her entire career at Southern and is enjoying her best season. She is second in the SWAC in both runs scored (52) and stolen bases (35 of 35). She is hitting .379 and has six home runs and five triples. George is on a 16-game hitting streak.
The Southern ace is Aaliyah Zabala, the SWAC Pitcher of the Year. The sophomore also was named All-SWAC first team after a dominant year in the pitching circle.
The Perris, California, native has the second-lowest ERA (1.82), best record (17-3) and second-most strikeouts (85) in the league. Zabala is also tied for the most shutouts with four and has allowed 29 earned runs in 111⅓ innings.
Southern has improved its record every season since 2023, so Williams believed her group would be successful. What she did not expect was a 10-win improvement from last season.
“Honestly, no,” Williams said after being asked if she foresaw this level of play. “I knew these girls were going to do something big, though. I told it to some of my coaching friends that I've recruited with over the summer. But this, I couldn't even imagine it. These girls, they exceeded my expectations.”
She maintains that team chemistry is what has elevated her group’s ceiling. Her players celebrate each other’s successes in heated battles and spend time together outside of practice. When the team received an off day on April 27 after it secured a perfect home record with a three-game sweep over Prairie View, which is No. 1 in the SWAC West, players bonded on their own by going to the movie theater to watch “Michael.”
The Jaguars also honed their skills. It’s why after Southern opened the season with 18 errors in its first three games, the group didn’t lose faith in itself.
The Jaguars now turn their attention to winning the program's first SWAC championship since 2003. Williams loves that Southern reinvigorated the fan base. The next goal is in front of the Jaguars.
“As much as I would love to say ‘No, there's no pressure,’ that's not true,” Williams said. “Everything that we've done this season is a great step forward, but people only remember championships, right? So it'll be nice to have this memory associated with a ring as well.
"We were made for this moment. So I'm really excited to see how they come out.”