(Source: Daytona Times)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Four Bethune-Cookman Softball student-athletes were named to the 2025 Preseason All-Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Team on Monday morning, announced by the league office from its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama.
Halyne Gonzalez was selected to the first team, while Jessica Alaan, Thais Uyema and Briana Velazquez were selected to the Second Team.
Last season, Gonzalez – the 2024 AllSWAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, was named to the All-SWAC Second Team at the conclusion of the season after registering a record of 14-17 on the campaign – the fourth-most wins in the league, respectfully.
She finished with the ninth-best ERA (3.16) in the league and posted 21 complete games and four shutouts. In all, she tossed 201.2 innings across the campaign, and was named SWAC Pitcher of Week on three occasions.
Named to the All-SWAC Preseason Second Team was catcher Thais Uyema. The native of Lima, Peru played in 51 games during her first year with the program after transferring in from Purdue Fort Wayne, starting in 50 of those contests.
She finished the year batting .295 allowing her to place fifth on the team with 36 hits and three (3) doubles. Behind the plate, she pulled in 240 putouts and 33 assists, using a .975 fielding percentage as well.
Also, on the second team as a second baseman is Jessica Alaan, a sophomore from Pomona, California, after she played in 51 games as a true freshman. She drove in a team-leading 27 runs while scoring 19 runs of her own, adding a .287 batting average and a team second-most 43 hits.
Defensively, she tallied a .954 fielding percentage in collecting 82 putouts and 63 assists from her second base position on the field.
The final Cat selected to the second team is shortstop Briana Velazquez, a redshirt senior from San Pedro, California. After sitting out the 2023 campaign with injury, Velazquez recorded the second-highest batting average on the team with a .325 mark in 2024, posting one of three (3) home runs on the campaign as well.
She went on to record the third-most hits on the team (41) and tied for the most doubles (10), while finishing second on the team with a .444 slugging percentage. IN the field at shortstop, the San Pedro High alum carried a .909 fielding percentage as she collected 71 putouts and a team-high 69 assists.
Other teams
Jackson State was picked to finish in first place in the SWAC’s Eastern Division. The Tigers tallied 10 first place points and 108 total points. Florida A&M (2nd), Bethune-Cookman (3rd), Alabama State (4th), Alabama A&M (5th) and Mississippi Valley State (6th) round out the list of SWAC East Preseason selections.
Prairie View A&M was tabbed to finish in first place in the SWAC’s Western Division. The Lady Panthers amassed a league leading 14 first place votes and 107 total points. Texas Southern (2nd), Southern (3rd), Grambling State (4th), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (5th) and Alcorn State (6th) highlight SWAC West Preseason selections.
Prairie View A&M’s Mia Nunez was tabbed Preseason Player of the Year, while Florida A&M’s Zoryana Hughes was named Preseason Pitcher of the Year.