With a new year comes new seasons for Florida Atlantic athletics and new opportunities for the Owls’ softball teams to prove something special in their respective seasons. 

Head softball coach Jordan Clark spoke in front of the media on Tuesday afternoon along with senior pitcher Ainsley Lambert and sophomore outfielder Kylie Hammonds.

With the season kicking off on Thursday, Feb. 6 versus Ole Miss, the Owls are hungry to get back into their season after coming off an incredible inaugural season in the American Athletic Conference (AAC).

After being crowned the AAC regular season and conference champions in 2024, FAU softball looks to keep the same dominance they left the last time they stepped foot on the mound. 

The team finished their regular season with a record of 41-16 (21-1 AAC). The Owls also finished first in the AAC in 10 categories such as at-bats, hits and runs, and finished second in batting average (.301).

“The mindset this season is to be where our feet are, and last year was amazing, but we can’t think that we have to be last year’s team,” said head coach Jordan Clark. “If you’re going to be our fan or if you’re going to be following along, put your seatbelt on.” 

While the Owls did not technically lose former pitcher and outfielder, Trinity Schlotterbeck, as she is back with the team as one of their graduate assistants for the 2025-2026 season, they are not worried about filling in the missing pieces with new, powerful players. 

The Owls signed seven new players since last season and are looking forward to the new talent that is in store for FAU softball. 

Lambert was one of the Owls’ biggest playmakers last season as a pitcher, leading the team in strikeouts with 89 and made 53 appearances out of the bullpen in two seasons with the Owls with a combined record of 15-5, an ERA of 2.08 and 11 saves. However, she does not take all of the credit for her great accolades in their winning season. 

“That’s not just me though; you’ve got to give credit where credit is due,” said Lambert. “Just because I have the ball every pitch doesn’t mean it just was me getting those quick innings. My defense wholeheartedly contributed to my getting off the field as quickly as I could every inning. I’m sure you want to credit your teammates, too.”

As for Hammonds, her freshman season was cut short three games in as she unfortunately had to miss the remainder of the 2023 season due to an injury. However, she did not let this setback discourage her as she had 43 appearances, seven starts, 48 at-bats, 13 runs and even hit her first collegiate home run in their game versus the University of Texas at San Antonio..

“I have to give all the credit to the people around me. I definitely have one of the best athletic trainers ever and I had teammates behind me every step of the way helping me out,” said Hammonds. “There was never a doubt in my mind, not once thinking, ‘What if I don’t come back from this?’ I’m going to come back stronger and I’m going to have a great career, and I was lucky enough to have all those people have my back.”

With talented players and a great team, there is always a great coaching staff right behind them, and Clark and her staff were crowned AAC Coaching Staff of the Year. 

“I always say this business is about people first and you want to be in a job where you love who you’re around every day,” said Clark. “What makes FAU softball, FAU softball, is the development and I think that we do an amazing job of letting our players know that they are people first, and they are athletes second, and our staff has helped this thing grow really fast.”

Prior to FAU, Clark served as an assistant coach at Ohio State University and a volunteer assistant at the University of Arkansas. She is extremely humbled by her exposure early in her career and feels it has helped her become the coach she is today.

“It’s been everything to me. And so I got to start in the SEC, which not a lot of people get to say that I got to go to a regionals, go to a super regionals in my first three years of coaching,” said Clark. “It’s also important to make sure our girls know that I’m not trying to make [this team] like Ohio State or Arkansas, but I’m forever indebted to those two; they gave me a chance. I was a sixth-grade teacher who got into college coaching because she took a chance on me. It takes one person to believe in you, and so those experiences are priceless.”

After being named FAU softball’s newest head coach in June 2022, Clark quickly filled the shoes of former softball coach and coaching legend, Joan Joyce. 

Joyce served as the head coach for 28 years before her unfortunate passing in 2022. Joyce’s Owls team won eleven conference championships and advanced to eleven NCAA Division I softball tournaments.

“Talk about big shoes to fall into; I realized how big that task was going to be, and everything that we’ve done here has been to honor her and to continue to build this thing up to where she once had it,” said Clark. “At times she is probably laughing and rolling her eyes that this girl is crazy that took over after me, but it’s I’m forever indebted to her and forever indebted for what she built this as so that I could come in and be able to just keep moving it forward.”

Clark’s work ethic and kind heart have pushed this group of girls to play their best and feel her aura has contributed to the teams’ success in big ways.

“I believe in her 100%. I never question her, her tactics, why she does what she does because she has this way with her personality that makes you believe that you could trust her from the moment you meet her,” said Lambert. “Playing behind her, having that trust and really believing in someone that much gives you a leg up. I think she has that personality trait about her that makes it so easy to play under her; she’s a fireball and I love it.”

Regardless of the expectations that are set in place for FAU softball this season, this team is prepared for whatever is thrown at them — literally. 

“I believe pressure is a privilege; it’s a privilege to go out there and know you were top dog last year. You have a target on your back and people are coming for you. That’s a privilege to be on a team this good and to have girls this good next to me on the line; I love it, and I want people to come after us,” said Lambert.

Lambert believes that having a “target” on their backs won’t alter how the team mentally heads into a game. 

“I want people to want to beat us because, at the end of the day, we know who we are. We’re going to play FAU softball, and we’re going to hold us hold ourselves to the standard that we hold each other to day in and day out,” said Lambert. “We’re going to do our type of game, and we’re going to play our way.”

Angelina Martell is the Sports Reporter for the University Press. Email her at amartell2023@fau.edu or reach out to her on Instagram @angieemartell for information regarding this or other stories.