SAN MARCOS, Texas – A new era of Northwestern State softball officially begins on Thursday. 
 
The Demons begin the 2024 season under first-year head coach Lacy Prejean, named d1softball.com's best head coaching hire of this past summer, with a doubleheader against Texas State and UTSA beginning at 4:15 p.m. from Bobcat Stadium on the Texas State campus.
 
Thursday's season opener for NSU will also be broadcast on ESPN+. The remaining four games during the opening weekend tournament will not be televised but live stat links are available for those games at nsudemons.com.
 
The Demons will play one game at 12:15 p.m. against Creighton on Friday and finish the weekend with another doubleheader against Southern Illinois and Kennesaw State starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
 
"We've scrimmaged in practice already 10 times this spring, so everybody is ready to see some different pitching and different hitters," Prejean said. "We're excited to go out there and show all the work we've put in this offseason."
 
A senior-laden roster leads the Demons into the season with preseason all-conference players Maggie Darr, Laney Roos and Ashlyn Walker among the 10 total upperclassmen on the roster. The Demons return seven starting position players from a season ago and three senior pitchers. Five of those players have started more than 110 games at the Division I level. 
 
Junior Bailie Ragsdale is expected to make her 100^th career start this weekend, after 99 through her first two seasons, to join the triple-digit start club. In the circle both Darr and senior Kenzie Seely have made more than 30 starts for the Demons.
 
All that experience has helped the Demons from day one of Fall practice until now as they have embraced the changes and servant leadership mantra from Prejean.
 
"They are a very mature group and think they understand the importance and sense of urgency of having to work extremely hard because the softball time frame is running out," Prejean said. "That was definitely beneficial to them buying into the things that we're doing and the changes and approaches we're taking. They had a big influence on our freshman in that way in the fall and especially these last five weeks of preseason practice."
 
NSU welcomes six true freshman to Natchitoches this season and one transfer, many of which will play key roles throughout the season along with the nine seniors.
 
Freshman Mia Liscano secured the starting short stop position and will be just the second true freshman starting short stop for NSU in the past 10 years. The other player to make that claim is who Liscano will succeed at the pivotal spot on the left side of the infield in four-year starter Keely Dubois.
 
NSU legacy freshman Aly Delafield, sister of former NSU all-conference player E.C. Delafield, will add more depth and athleticism all over the field and in the circle. Transfers Kennedy Reynolds (McNeese) and Kelsey Bunch (Sam Houston) bring more pop to the lineup and/or off the bench.
 
The new pieces mixed with the experience and leadership all over the field from a group of seen-it-all seniors stands to make a talented roster a tough matchup for opponents.
 
In an ever-improving Southland Conference, it will be the intangibles that carry one team passed another and exactly what Prejan will be looking for from the very first game of her first season as NSU's head coach.
 
"I'm looking for some competitors," Prejean said. "I want them to go out every game, every inning, every out, every pitch and compete. No give up. Just keep fighting and believing. We're going to hustle and do the small things and keep pushing no matter what."
 
NSU will play the first game of any Southland Conference team this season on Thursday afternoon. Their ultimate goal when the first pitch is thrown, being in the last game of any SLC team come May.