Saluki pitcher McKenzie Newcomb earned a spot on the College Sports Evaluation preseason top 50 among college softball pitchers on Wednesday.
College Sports Evaluation is a sports data company. Earlier this week, Jackie Lis was named the #31 position player in college softball according to CSE’s metrics. Newcomb, who transferred to SIU in July from Samford, is CSE’s #38 pitcher in college softball.
CSE has officially released the Top 50 Player Rankings for the 2025 Season! These rankings are powered entirely by data—no bias, no opinions, just cold, hard facts. Who made the cut? 👀 Dive in to see where your favorite players stack up this season!#DataDriven @TCSFastpitch pic.twitter.com/wlSN7PFPwP
— College Sports Evaluation (@CS_Eval) January 25, 2025
Newcomb, a native of Meridianville, Ala., was ranked sixth amongst all pitchers in the transfer portal last offseason, according to College Sports Evaluation. Across three seasons at Samford, Newcomb posted a record of 46-24 with a 2.20 ERA in 92 appearances. The incoming senior struck out 435 batters and walked just 65 in a total of 476.2 innings pitched.
Former Saluki pitcher, Maddia Groff, was named the #3 pitcher in the country.
Newcomb, Lis, and the Salukis open the season on February 7th against Appalachian State at the Auburn Tournament.
