The NCAA softball season started last week, and with first pitches thrown and a week of evidence, it is time to dive into 10 of the top storylines surrounding 2022.

Can Montana Fouts lead Alabama to the promised land?

Montana Fouts is the face of college softball. She also happens to be one of the best pitchers in the country. The Crimson Tide were selected as the preseason SEC favorite but will need several new faces to step up and support Fouts, who opened the season with a 3-hit, 14-strikeout effort against Oregon State.

Two major voids the Tide need to fill are behind the plate and third base. Ally Shipman, a Tennessee transfer, is a good start. She is solid behind the plate and is a career .331 hitter. Ohio State transfer Ashley Prange started 103 games in 3 seasons for the Buckeyes primarily at the hot corner. Prange hit 2 home runs in the opening week for the Tide (4-0).

Will Oklahoma repeat?

For the 10th straight year, the Oklahoma Sooners were selected as the preseason Big 12 favorite. They return the core of the offense that includes Jocelyn Alo, who is primed to break former Sooner Lauren Chamberlain’s NCAA career home run record. Alo hit a grand slam in her second at-bat of the season Thursday and added another over the weekend. She now has 90, 5 shy of Chamberlain (95).

Freshman Jordyn Bahl and graduate transfer Hope Trautwein join sophomore Nicole May in the circle. Bahl, the No. 1 ranked recruit in the country, is 2-0 with 24 strikeouts entering the weekend. Trautwein, also 2-0 with 16 strikeouts, is coming off an undergraduate career at North Texas where she set program records with 450 innings pitched and 693 strikeouts. Trautwein also became the first pitcher in NCAA history to record a perfect game with 21 strikeouts.

Texas fight

The team under the most pressure to reach Oklahoma City is Texas. The Longhorns (5-1) are coming off back-to-back Super Regional appearances and return 8 starters, including 3-time All-American second baseman Janae Jefferson.

Junior pitcher Shea O’Leary is off to a slow start (4 ER in 4 IP) but will look to carry the load in the circle. Joining her is fifth-year senior and 2021 Mountain West Pitcher of the Year Hailey Dolcini (Fresno State). Dolcini is 2-0 on the young season with 16 strikeouts in 13 IP. NC State sophomore transfer Estelle Czech adds a different look as a lefty and Houston transfer Logan Hulon will also look to share some innings.

Is Oregon back?

Oregon coach Melissa Lombardi could have the deepest lineup she’s ever had as she enters her 4th year in Eugene. That’s a strong statement for a coach who used 50 different lineups in 57 games last season.

The Ducks are off to a 6-0 start, outscoring their opponents 49-9.

The Ducks lost 4 of 8 hitters who started at least 36 games in 2021 but have 24 on the roster who could all see playing time. Returning to the lineup this season is Jasmine Sievers Williams, who missed last season on maternity leave. She started every game at shortstop in 2019 and 2020. Williams shares the team lead with 6 RBIs.

Year 4 looks a lot different than Year 1 when Lombardi used one pitcher, Jordan Dail, and 9 position players for the majority of the 2019 season. Dail already is 2-0 with 14 strikeouts. Makenna Kliethermes has been even better, going 3-0 with 29 strikeouts in 21 innings. She threw a 1-hitter with 15 strikeouts against Ole Miss.

The return of Miranda Elish

Miranda Elish is a 2-time All-American who has played at Oregon and Texas. She suited up in 2020 and posted an 11-3 record with a 1.25 ERA. She also hit .370 with 4 home runs and 19 RBIs, but she opted out of 2021 to focus on herself.

Elish chose Oklahoma State to finish her career and it could be the first time where she isn’t the workhorse. She’s 1-1 thus far, with a 4.06 ERA for the Cowboys (4-1).

According to coach Kenny Gajewski, Elish’s job is to just be herself. She has support around her in redshirt junior Kelly Maxwell and Illinois State transfer Morgan Day plus an explosive offense. The pressure is off and Elish can enjoy her final year of eligibility.

The rise of the ACC

Florida State, Clemson, Duke, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame all have the ability to make a postseason run.

FSU reached the WCWS finals in 2021, Duke beat Clemson in the ACC Championship, Keely Rochard was dominant in the circle for the Hokies and Notre Dame is still searching for its first WCWS berth.

The team to watch in this group is Duke, which is off to a 4-1 start. Last season, despite earning a national seed for the postseason tournament, Duke was sent to the Athens Regional as the No. 1 seed and lost to Georgia in the Regional final.

Call in the Hogs

The defending SEC champions were picked to finish 3rd by league coaches and ranked in the Top 10 in every major poll. They’re off to a 3-2 start — both losses coming to No. 7 Washington.

Seniors Danielle Gibson (.533 average through 5 games) and Mary Haff (2-1) lead the way with preseason All-America honors, but adding to the depth are Tulsa transfer Chenise Delce, Tennessee transfer Callie Turner and Alabama transfer KB Sides.

New Cat in town

Caitlin Lowe has been associated with University of Arizona since her freshman year in 2004, but head coach is a new title.

Lowe takes over for legendary coach Mike Candrea, who retired after 36 seasons.

Lowe is 1 of 2 Wildcats in program history to be named an All-American in all 4 seasons and joined the staff as the director of operations in 2013, volunteer assistant in 2014 and a full-time assistant in 2015.

With the shuffle at the top, Lowe hired Lauren Lappin, who spent the past 5 years at Missouri-St. Louis, as the program’s second assistant coach.

How will James Madison follow up its Final Four finish?

James Madison shocked the world with its 2021 Women’s College World Series berth, but the storyline continued as Odicci Alexander, Kate Gordon, Sara Jubas and Co. rolled to the semifinals, where they eventually lost to Oklahoma.

Six of last year’s starters have moved on — including Gordon (21 HRs, 58 RBIs) and the Dukes will have to rely on a plethora of new faces and very few familiar ones during the last year as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association.

M-I-Z

The Mizzou Tigers fell in a heartbreaker to James Madison in the Columbia Super Regional and saw their historic season come to a screeching halt. Then, hitting coach Chris Malveaux left for Knoxville.

The good news: For the first time since moving to the SEC, Mizzou has been picked higher than 6th in the preseason conference poll and this year they have landed 5th. The Tigers also return all but 1 player from the 2021 roster and added more.

Reigning SEC Freshman of the Year Jenna Laird returns for her sophomore season and looks to improve on her .369 batting average and first-team All-SEC honors. She’s off to a good start, leading the Tigers (4-2) with a .389 average.