Softball Media Day Scheduled for Feb. 1

Head coach Megan Smith and all four captains will meet with the media about the upcoming season

Fourth-year head coach Megan Smith enjoying interviews during last year's media day.

Jan. 27, 2013

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Fourth-year head coach Megan Smith and the four 2013 team captains will welcome reporters to the Kansas softball locker room for media day on Friday, Feb. 1. Interviews will begin at 1:30 p.m.

Smith begins her fourth season with an 83-77 record at Kansas and a career mark of 209-138. She will be joined on media day by team captains: senior outfielder Maggie Hull, senior infielder Mariah Montgomery, redshirt junior outfielder/pitcher Alex Jones and sophomore utility player Maddie Stein.

The Jayhawks are coming off of their second-straight 30-win season after posting a 31-20 mark in 2012. KU spent the duration of the season in the RPI's top-50 and notched victories against nationally-ranked programs Texas Tech and Baylor. Under Smith's direction, the Jayhawks made school history with its unprecedented 20-game win streak last spring.

With 11 returning letterwinners and seven newcomers in the mix, pitchers and catchers reported for practice on Jan. 12. The rest of the team began its workouts on Jan. 15 in preparation for the fast-approaching spring. Kansas will travel to Miami, Fla., to open the season against North Carolina State in its first game of the Florida International Tournament, Feb. 8-10.

Maggie Hull | Senior | Outfielder | Lawrence, Kan.
Kansas has nearly everyone back from a lineup that hit .288 as a unit in 2012, the second-best team average in program history - and Hull was the ringleader. The Lawrence, Kan. native led the Big 12 in the regular season with a .409 batting average, breaking KU's all-time season mark in the process. Her work earned her All-Big 12 First Team honors, NFCA All-District First Team accolades as well as Third Team Academic All-America. Most recently, Hull was honored with KU's prestigious Marlene Mawson Exemplary Student-Athlete Award at the women's basketball game, Jan. 26.

Mariah Montgomery | Senior | Infielder | Ralston, Neb.
A career .300 hitter, Montgomery has been a source of offensive consistency as a three-year starter. Her defense matches that dependability as she's spent those years at shortstop. In 2013, however, Montgomery is prepared to move to the right side of the infield to accommodate incoming freshman shortstop Chaley Brickey. Entering her senior season, Montgomery is in need of 33 RBIs to break KU's all-time record after racking up a team-best 45 RBIs last season, good for eighth in the Big 12.

Alex Jones | Redshirt Junior | Outfielder/Pitcher | Enid, Okla.
After an ACL tear robbed her of her junior season, Jones is back and better than ever according to Smith. Jones started all 106 games of her freshman and sophomore seasons before going down in 2012, and now is expected to pick up where she left off as a redshirt junior. An inspiration to her teammates as she rehabilitated her knee, Jones was honored by her team with the Big Jay Award last spring.

Maddie Stein | Sophomore | Utility | El Reno, Okla.
The youngest captain, Stein earned her role after proving her ability to perform under pressure in her freshman campaign. Stein made starts at catcher and in right field before landing at first base for the second half of the season. In 2013, she is slated to see time behind the plate as well as the infield. Regardless of her defensive position, her bat will rarely be out of the lineup as she hit .358 in conference play and .371 for the season to put her at ninth on KU's top-10 list.