VIDEO: Michael Graves Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Ahead of the 2025 season, Carson-Newman has earned four preseason all-conference selections including one first team selection, the league office announced Wednesday morning.
Hayden Dye earned first team honors, while Macauley Bailey appears on an all-conference team for a second consecutive season, joining the all-conference second team. In her second season with C-N, Brooklyn Lucero slides in as a second team selection at first base. Limestone transfer Santana Anderson earned second team honors in the outfield.
Coming off her best season in a C-N uniform and a first team all-conference selection, Dye joins the preseason first team all-conference list at shortstop. The Powell native hit .409 last season, good for sixth in the conference. She also ranked in the top five in the SAC in RBIs (57) and home runs (12). Her RBI total in the 2023-24 season is tied for ninth in program history.
"It's such an honor," Dye said. "It just lets myself and my team know that we have big things to work toward this season. I'm excited to get back out there and show the rest of the conference how good we are this year."
In addition to her first team all-conference selection following the 2023-24 season, Dye was also named a D2CCA All-Region second team shortstop.
With the other all-conference selections providing power to the lineup, Dye is excited for what the Eagles can bring to the table offensively.
"I am excited for our lineup because those girls are so good in the batter's box," Dye said. "Just to have those girls behind me means the world… I'm just excited to see how far we can go and to see how explosive this team is this year."
Following a freshman of the year campaign in 2023, there was no sophomore slump for Macauley Bailey. The Cross Plains native became the only player in school history to hit 15 home runs in consecutive seasons and the second player in school history to plate 60 or more runs in consecutive seasons. Bailey's 61 RBIs led the SAC.
"Macauley likes to hit and I think everybody sees the end result," head coach Michael Graves said. "She is probably the most powerful kid in the conference, and probably the most feared home run hitter in the conference."
In addition to her power-hitting threat, Bailey had 18 multi-RBI games. She hit .387 in her sophomore campaign, leading to s second team selection at year's end.
One of the premier hitters in the South Atlantic Conference in Santana Anderson makes her way to Mossy Creek after spending her first two seasons with Limestone. Anderson earns a preseason all-conference nod for the second time in her career after being named to the first team a season ago.
"I'm excited to see her in our uniform so we don't have to pitch to her," Graves said. "It seems like she has killed us over the years… She came in the fall and we slid her in there behind Macauley and in front of Brooklyn… She had great power numbers in the fall and carried a high batting average. She fits nicely and it is working great."
Anderson hit .395 with the Saints in 2024, mashing nine home runs and 30 RBIs. In her first season with Limestone, Anderson led the Saints in batting average (.416), OPS (1.242), total hits (69), doubles (150, home runs (16), and slugging (.795).
The Loma, Colo. native earns preseason second team all-conference honors for the first time in her second season with C-N. Lucero started 40 games last season, and while hitting .182 after February, the NC State transfer hit her stride, hitting .388 in conference play.
"Before Brooklyn came to us, she had to take a little bit of time off from softball," Graves said. "When she came back, she wasn't quite the Brooklyn she thought she needed to be. She caught fire in April. She had a great April and a good conference tournament for us, and another player who hit well in the fall. She had more hits than she had outs in the fall."
Lucero's surge through the middle and the end of the 2024 season helped her finish with a .333 batting average with five home runs and 34 RBIs, putting her on the map as a player to watch in the South Atlantic Conference.
Bringing back a lineup with plenty of pop, the Eagles will look to get the season started on the right foot against Kentucky State on January 31st at 10:45 a.m.
