Herron and McDowell Named Preseason All-SEC

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas softball senior LHP Robyn Herron and sophomore INF Ella McDowell were named Preseason All-SEC as the Razorbacks were predicted to finish fifth in a vote by the league’s coaches, the conference office announced on Thursday morning.

Arkansas was one of five schools to have numerous student-athletes land preseason all-conference honors.

Entering her senior season, Herron has already etched her name among the program’s greats in the record books during her three seasons on The Hill. The senior left-hander ranks first in program history in career opponent batting average (.182), sixth in shutouts (11), seventh in earned run average (2.23), and eighth in wins (38). Additionally, her 10 career 10+ strikeout games are the third-most in program history, trailing only Katy Henry (2005-08, 14) and Mary Haff (2018-22, 16). Herron earned Second-Team All-America honors from both D1Softball and Softball America and was also named Second-Team All-SEC and Second-Team NFCA All-Central region in 2025 after posting a team-high 18 wins while registering an 18-7 record, with a 2.72 ERA and team-leading 160 strikeouts while limiting opposing hitters to a .195 batting average in 144.0 innings of work.

McDowell made history in 2025 by becoming the first freshman in program history to earn NFCA All-America honors when she was selected as a Third-Team NFCA All-American at third base. McDowell batted .352 with 63 hits, 10 doubles, a triple, seven home runs, 54 RBI and 21 walks to go along with a .425 on-base percentage and a .961 OPS. She was among the Arkansas leaders in hits (2nd, 63), assists (2nd, 79) and home runs (T-3rd, 7). McDowell registered 18 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games while posting a 16-game reached base streak and a seven-game hitting streak during the season. Defensively, she started the season on a 29-game errorless streak and posted a .969 fielding percentage with 79 assists and 44 putouts in 127 chances. Her .352 batting average and .425 on-base percentage were the third-highest by a freshman in program history (min. 100 AB). Additionally, she also garnered Second-Team All-SEC recognition and was a D1Softball and Softball America Freshman All-American.

Herron and McDowell have garnered a plethora of preseason accolades entering the 2026 campaign. Both earned Preseason All-America honors from Softball America and D1Softball in addition to being named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.

The preseason All-SEC Softball Team is voted on by the conference’s head coaches and consists of a minimum of 21 players to highlight the upcoming season.

As a team, Arkansas was predicted to finish fifth in the SEC. Texas, which earned nine first-place votes, was the favorite to win the league, followed by Oklahoma, Tennessee and Florida.

2026 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)

Place – School – Points
1 – Texas (9) – 189
2 – Oklahoma (6) – 186
3 – Tennessee – 166
4 – Florida – 144
5 – Arkansas – 137
6 – Texas A&M – 125
7 – LSU – 119
8 – Georgia – 105
9 – Alabama – 94
10 – South Carolina – 90
11 – Mississippi State – 65
12 – Auburn – 55
13 – Ole Miss – 51
14 – Missouri – 32
15 – Kentucky – 17

Arkansas enters the 2026 season as a consensus top 10 team nationally, having garnered preseason rankings of No. 8, No. 9, No. 8 and No. 7 in the ESPN/USA, NFCA/GoRout D1 Coaches, D1 Softball and Softball America Preseason Top 25 Polls. The Razorbacks open its 30th season of play and 11th season under the direction of head coach Courtney Deifel in Conway, S.C., at the Kickin’ Chicken Classic (Feb. 6-8). The Razorbacks will commence the season by facing Virginia (9 a.m.) and Akron (11:30 a.m.) on Friday, Feb. 6. The Hogs are coming off a 44-14 mark in 2025, which featured their eighth-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and fourth NCAA Super Regional appearance in program history, all of which have come under Deifel’s guidance

For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on X, Instagram and Facebook.