On Wednesday, head softball coach Jordan Clark, junior pitcher Gabby Sacco, and senior and grad student outfielders Cammeo Presutti and Kamryn Jackson spoke to the media before the 2024 inaugural AAC Season.

With the start of their season two weeks away, FAU Softball enters its first year in the American Athletic Conference for the 2023-2024 athletic calendar.

Jordan Clark, who is entering her second year with Florida Atlantic, believes this team brings experience playing the sport. This season, there is a full roster of 27 girls, eight of whom are transfers and seven freshmen.

“Two girls have been to Super Regionals on their previous team. You’ve got some SEC talent, you got ACC talent, you’ve got Big 10 talent. You’ve got girls who’ve been through adversity here with a different coaching staff, working through all the things they’ve been through throughout their career,” said Clark.

Following her Duke graduation, Kamryn Jackson returned home to play her final year with the Owls. As a Blue Devil, she was a part of the ALL-ACC Third Team.

“I bring experience. The past three years, we [Duke] went to a Super Regional, so we were one of the last 16 teams left so I bring experience, fight, and grit.

With the additional depth on the roster, each position is two or three players deep. The Owls lost graduate pitcher Lynn Gardner, and with no incoming freshman with an arm, Clark had to return to the drawing board.

FAU picked up Maryland grad student transfer Trinity Schlotterbeck and USF sophomore transfer Jaden Martiez in the Fall of 2023.

“Pitching never hurts you. [Schlotterbeck] was a number one on Maryland’s staff. She came with a 2.0 ERA, so we knew she would be good for us. Then, as we went through the portal, some more [Martinez] became available,” Clark said. “At USF, she had a 2.5 ERA, had experience in the conference we’re going to, and she’s a lefty. We didn’t have a lefty, and [that creates] depth absolutely.”

The additional pitching depth gives relief to ace Sacco. Sacco was named one of the top pitchers in D1 Softball on Tuesday morning, ranked number 36 in the nation after a dominating sophomore season.

“The fun part of this is we’re going to be able to play with that, knowing ‘Okay, these are the starters, these are the middle relief, and these are the closers,” Clark said. “But [also] helping Gabby out [and] taking some pressure off of her. When you don’t have your best day or you’re hurting a little bit, you don’t have to be the only one out there. She can take a deep breath and think okay, it’s not my best stuff. Somebody can come in and help me.” 

Going into the AAC, the Owls will see familiar faces from C-USA: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of North Texas, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and University of Texas at San Antonio. 

“Going into a new conference, nothing changes. We still compete the same and we just go out the same as we normally do,” Sacco said. “The two girls that we got are amazing. They come from great schools and work as hard as I do. They’re going to back me up when I have my off days, and I’m going to back them up when they need help, too,” Sacco said.

A month into the season, the Owls will open up against AAC opponent Wichita State, who just got rated number one in the preseason ranking. 

“I still want to say we’re the underdog, and I think our girls do best in that role. We want people to know who you are, and we don’t want to play scared, but there’s a lot of opportunity ahead. The way we stacked our schedule this year, we’re going to have a chance to take care of ourselves in conference,” said Clark.

Presutti has been with the Owls since her freshman year. Throughout her four years, she said the progress has allowed each team to come far, especially this year’s team.

“The girls that came in want to compete. I’ve never been with so many new girls, just wanting to get out there and get better every single day. Coming in as a freshman, it was just like, ‘Oh, it’s practice, just going through the motions,’ but now we’re getting after it, going balls to the wall right now. It’s fun,” said Presutti.

There is always change when new players join a team, but having 15 players, however despite this, the Owls embraced it. 

“We’ve gotten so close as a team, the chemistry right now, we feed off each other. This is the most our team has ever been close [to competing],” said Presutti. “I’ve been here for years, and with this team, I’m really excited to see the season.” 

On Feb. 8, the Owls will open their 2024 campaign against the Marshall University Bisons in the Paradise Classic at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla.

Gianna Alberti is a staff writer at the University Press. Email her at galberti2021@fau.edu or @giannaalbertii on Instagram for information regarding this or other stories.