After finishing 14-14 last season, the Creighton softball team is poised to start a new season and make improvements in many different ways with a team full of newcomers.
Coach Brent Vigness is entering his 29th season at the helm of the program and is looking to build on his record as the winningest coach in Creighton Athletics history.
“We were positioning ourselves to get to the conference tournament last year, and then COVID hit and we weren’t able to finish out that final series with Butler so I think getting them back to the conference tournament is certainly a big goal for this group,” Vigness said.
Junior utility player Kiara Mills is one of the most experienced returners on this year’s team and a key to the Bluejays success as a leader on and off the field.
“I know that I don’t have to say a lot when it comes to talking to my team, but when it does come down to it I make sure I just empower them with really powerful words,” Mills said.
Chemistry is very important to any team’s success, especially for a team like the Bluejays that has a quarter of a roster completely different from a season prior.
“I definitely believe that this team has one of the better chemistries that I’ve been a part of and it’s really awesome to be a part of that leadership role,” Mills said.
Also leading the Jays will be the only returning first-team All-Big East member in junior first baseman Kailey Wilson and last season’s dominant second starting pitcher, junior Mikayla Santa Cruz.
True freshman pitcher Alexis Wiggins is a new face to the Bluejays program and is hopeful to contend for the starting pitcher position left behind by the graduated Parker Boyd who led the Jays in innings pitched, strikeouts and wins in 2021.
“I’m most excited to start playing with new teammates and also to get started playing in the Big East conference,” Wiggins said. “The Big East has also improved so much over the years and I’m super excited to be a part of that.”
The Bluejays were selected to place fourth in the Big East Preseason Poll after finishing fourth last season with an 8-7 record in conference play.
Another key addition to keep an eye on in the 2022 season is the Jays lone senior, Shayna Dahlen, a graduate transfer from Idaho State that fills a much needed spot at catcher for the Bluejays.
The Jays will kick off their long awaited season with a five-game tournament in El Paso, Texas from Friday through Sunday against Idaho State, UTEP, and Abilene Christian.
“I’m super excited, I can’t wait, it’s going to be a great time and I know that we are going to ball all the way out,” Mills said.