photo courtesy of AUM Athletics.
By Patrick Eiland and Cameron Harris
AUM softball is having a season to remember, starting #12 nationally, and ascending their first #1 ranking in NCAA Division II ranking in program history and have kept their foot on the gas ever since.
Pitcher Reese Cauley is ranked 14th in the nation for ERA with a 1.41 average and a 26-2 record. She is just a part of what has been an amazing pitching season for the Warhawks as the entire team’s ERA is 1.75, which ranks 10th nationally. The Warhawks are ranked fifth nationally in hits allowed per 7 innings at 5.31 and they are tied fifth in the nation with 12 shutouts.
“I feel like we got one of the best defenses in the country,” said Cauley, “We’re all selfless, and we all know what we do ourselves is something that helps our team. Their success, my success and our whole team’s success is just coming from what can I do for my teammate, what can I do for my coach and I feel like that just helps get us to where we need to be.”
Outfielder Chloe Baynes ranks 25th nationally in batting average at .455. There are four Warhawks hitting over .300 this season:
- Chloe Baynes- .455
- Olivia Watkins- .393
- Rebecca Komers- .387
- Shelby Morgan- .333
- Karris Rhine- .301
“It’s just getting the hits that we need. If there’s a runner on third focusing on getting a sac fly or a hit oppo (opposite side) to make sure we can score them, or just moving the runners in general so people behind me can also score runs,” said Komers.
Softball, which is currently ranked #7 in NCAA Division II, has been the most successful team in the spring for AUM. The softball team has a record of 39-8 up until this point, ranking as high as #1 at one point this season, a program first.
The Warhawks sit tied for first in the Gulf South Conference, with a chance to win the regular season conference title with one series left to go. Then it’s off to the 2026 Gulf South Conference Softball Championship at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.
AUM has won three GSC championships in 2021, 2022, and 2024 and look to top off a season of the ages with their fourth since joining the conference in 2017.
The Warhawks have two titles in 2014 and 2015 back when they were a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), but topping this season off with their first NCAA championship would cement this as the dream season for AUM softball.
Head coach Scottie Wilkes Laney is in her 12th year with the team, helping the Warhawks win their 2 NAIA championships before their move into the NCAA. In her third year as head coach Laney’s ultimate goal is to win a championship at the next level saying, “Honestly, it would be a dream come true. Since we made the transition to division II it’s been our goal to win an NCAA national championship. We experienced that as an NAIA institution and as an assistant coach that was our goal and its still my goal as a head coach,” said Laney.
