Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Thunder and Lightning Land On Preseason All-SEC Team
February 04, 2021 | Softball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's All-American duo of Mia Davidson and Fa Leilua landed on the Southeastern Conference's 17-player Preseason All-SEC team, announced on Thursday.
The preseason team is voted on by the league's head coaches and consists of a minimum of 14 student-athletes. Each SEC head coach voted for five infielders, four outfielders, three pitchers, one catcher and one designate player/utility. No ties were broken.
Davidson is coming off a down year that saw her hit .330 with a .659 slugging percentage. The 2019 All-American is a lifetime .363 hitter with 52 career home runs. She holds MSU's career records for home runs (52) and slugging percentage (.787). In 2019 she set the MSU and SEC single-season home run record with 26 long balls on her way to a school-record .882 slugging percentage.
In 2020, Davidson started every game, making 21 appearances behind the plate. The Hillsborough, North Carolina, native was tied for fifth in the SEC with a pair of triples and tied for third with five runners caught stealing. She enters the 2021 campaign needing just 16 home runs to surpass MSU legend Rafael Palmeiro (67) for the most by any Mississippi State student-athlete in baseball or softball.
Leilua returned for her fifth season of competition and sixth year in college after receiving an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA due to COVID-19. She is one of 12 active players nationally with 50 or more home runs in her career. She led MSU in total bases (66), hits (33) and RBIs (28) in 2020, while posting a .384 batting average.
In her last full season, the Hawthorne, California, native hit 26 home runs, which was tied for seventh in SEC single-season history and trailed only Davidson in MSU's single-season record books. She is currently second in MSU career history with a .768 slugging percentage.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Charla Echols, Florida – INF
Kendyl Lindaman, Florida – INF
Fa Leilua, Mississippi State – INF
Chelsea Seggern, Tennessee – INF
Alexis Mack, Alabama – OF
KB Sides, Alabama – OF
Hannah McEwen, Arkansas – OF
Aliyah Andrews, LSU – OF
Cayla Kessinger, Missouri – OF
Montana Fouts, Alabama – P
Autumn Storms, Arkansas – P
Ali Kilponen, LSU – P
Shelby Wickersham, LSU – P
Ashley Rogers, Tennessee – P
Mia Davidson, Mississippi State – C
Shelby Sunseri, LSU – DP/UTL
The preseason team is voted on by the league's head coaches and consists of a minimum of 14 student-athletes. Each SEC head coach voted for five infielders, four outfielders, three pitchers, one catcher and one designate player/utility. No ties were broken.
Davidson is coming off a down year that saw her hit .330 with a .659 slugging percentage. The 2019 All-American is a lifetime .363 hitter with 52 career home runs. She holds MSU's career records for home runs (52) and slugging percentage (.787). In 2019 she set the MSU and SEC single-season home run record with 26 long balls on her way to a school-record .882 slugging percentage.
In 2020, Davidson started every game, making 21 appearances behind the plate. The Hillsborough, North Carolina, native was tied for fifth in the SEC with a pair of triples and tied for third with five runners caught stealing. She enters the 2021 campaign needing just 16 home runs to surpass MSU legend Rafael Palmeiro (67) for the most by any Mississippi State student-athlete in baseball or softball.
Leilua returned for her fifth season of competition and sixth year in college after receiving an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA due to COVID-19. She is one of 12 active players nationally with 50 or more home runs in her career. She led MSU in total bases (66), hits (33) and RBIs (28) in 2020, while posting a .384 batting average.
In her last full season, the Hawthorne, California, native hit 26 home runs, which was tied for seventh in SEC single-season history and trailed only Davidson in MSU's single-season record books. She is currently second in MSU career history with a .768 slugging percentage.
For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."
Preseason All-SEC Team
Braxton Burnside, Arkansas – INFCharla Echols, Florida – INF
Kendyl Lindaman, Florida – INF
Fa Leilua, Mississippi State – INF
Chelsea Seggern, Tennessee – INF
Alexis Mack, Alabama – OF
KB Sides, Alabama – OF
Hannah McEwen, Arkansas – OF
Aliyah Andrews, LSU – OF
Cayla Kessinger, Missouri – OF
Montana Fouts, Alabama – P
Autumn Storms, Arkansas – P
Ali Kilponen, LSU – P
Shelby Wickersham, LSU – P
Ashley Rogers, Tennessee – P
Mia Davidson, Mississippi State – C
Shelby Sunseri, LSU – DP/UTL
Players Mentioned
C/INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballFriday, May 29
Thursday, May 28
Wednesday, May 27
Sunday, May 24