BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - The Ohio Valley Conference has released their 2025 Softball Predicted Order of Finish on Thursday afternoon. The Lindenwood Lions were picked to finish in sixth after going 25-25 a season ago. Lindenwood enters their third Division I season in the OVC.

Coming into the season, head coach Erin Brown returns 14 players from their 2024 roster. Brown led her squad last season to their most wins in the Division I era (25) while going 13-14 in conference play. Lindenwood will also add nine new players to their roster including six freshman and three transfers.

The Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State were selected as the 2025 Preseason favorite, garnering nine first-place votes and finishing with 152 points after claiming the OVC Tournament Championship last season. They were followed by Southern Indiana who received six first-place votes (140 points) and 2024 OVC Regular Season Champion Eastern Illinois with five first-place votes (139 points).

Tennessee State follows the top three ranking fourth with 107 points followed by Tennessee Tech (82), Lindenwood (80), UT Martin (74), SIUE (73), Morehead State (30) and Western Illinois (23). There are a total of 27 conference games this season with each team playing the other schools three times.

The OVC also released their 2025 OVC Players to Watch for the upcoming season. Lindenwood's Irelynn West was picked as the Lions' Player to Watch after making the All-OVC First Team a season ago. She appeared in 47 games in 2024 hitting .252 with 35 hits and 19 RBI. During the season, she had 10 multi-hit games and the longest hitting streak (eight games).

Below is the full list of OVC Players to Watch:
Eastern Illinois
Briana Gonzalez, Sr., IF, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Lindenwood
Irelynn West, Sr., OF, Kansas City, Mo
Morehead State
Darlene Montoya, Sr., OF, San Bernardino, Calif.
Southeast Missouri
Aubrie Shore, Sr., 1B, Mahomet, Ill.
Southern Indiana
Josie Newman, Sr., P, Indianapolis, Ind.
SIUE
Lauryn Yslava, Sr., OF, Gilroy, Calif.
Tennessee State
Anayah Baker-Rowell, Gr., 3B, Douglassville, Ga.
Tennessee Tech
1B, Sydney Kirby, Sr., 1B, Cypress, Texas
UT Martin
Kennedy Brown, Jr., 3B, Lexington, Tenn.
Western Illinois
Rylee Boone, Jr., OF, LaCygne, Kan.

Lindenwood will start their season on Friday, Feb. 7th at the 901 Classic Tournament hosted by the University of Memphis. The Lions will have a total of four non-conference pre-season tournaments including the Lindenwood Invite starting on Feb. 28th.

Lou Brock Stadium will also play host to a total of 22 home games this season starting at the Lindenwood Invite. LU will take on Eastern Illinois, Tennessee State, SEMO, Western Illinois and Tennessee Tech all at home during OVC play.

For more information on Lindenwood softball, go to lindenwoodlions.com.