2024 St. John's vs Seton Hall

2024 BIG EAST Softball Conference Tournament Preview

2024 BIG EAST Softball Conference Tournament Preview

No. 1 seed Villanova looks to claim the automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals but tough competition awaits at the 2024 BIG EAST Conference Tournament.

May 8, 2024 by Kyle Kensing
2024 BIG EAST Softball Conference Tournament Preview

Six teams converge on Providence's Glay Field beginning May 8 for the 2024 BIG EAST Softball Tournament. At stake for the wide-open field is an automatic berth in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. 

The six qualifiers for the BIG EAST Tournament are: 

No. 1 Villanova: 28-22 overall, 19-5 BIG EAST  

No. 2 UConn:  30-22, 16-8 

No. 3 Creighton: 33-20, 16-8 

No. 4 Seton Hall:  27-21, 14-10 

No. 5 St. John's: 29-25, 13-11 

No. 6 Butler: 22-27, 11-13 

Tournament competition gets started on May 8 when Seton Hall and St. John's squares off, followed by Creighton vs. Butler. 

Get to know more the field of the 2024 BIG EAST Softball Tournament. 

Villanova BIG EAST Softball Scores

UConn BIG EAST Softball Scores

Creighton BIG EAST Softball Scores

Seton Hall BIG EAST Softball Scores 

St. John's BIG EAST Softball Scores 

Butler BIG EAST Softball Scores

How to Watch BIG EAST Conference Softball 2024

Watch BIG EAST Conference softball on FloSoftball and the FloSports app.

FloSoftball will be streaming CAA Softball and BIG EAST Softball all season long.

Players to Watch 

Ava Franz, Villanova Shortstop 

Top-seeded Villanova features a strong corps in its batting order with four Wildcats boasting OPS above 1.000 going into the BIG EAST Tournament. Ava Franz is among the quartet with a 1.027 OPS. Franz also has Villanova's third-best batting average at .323 and her 10 home runs help fuel a team-leading 42 RBI. 

Lexi Hastings, UConn Outfielder 

Among the nation's most dangerous baserunners, the 2024 BIG EAST Softball Player of the Year Lexi Hastings swiped 30 bases in the regular season. Her work on the base paths was just a part of what earned her top individual honors in the league. 

Hastings also hit a team-leading .398 and had an on-base percentage of .452. 

Natalia Puchino, Creighton Pitcher 

The BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year heads into the conferencec tournament, Natalia Puchino went a remarkable 24-6 in 39 appearances over 179 2/3 innings during the regular season. 

Puchino's ERA is a microscopic 1.75 and she has struck out 158 batters while allowing just 109 hits. Opponents are hitting only .173 against Puchino. 

Kelsey Carr, Seton Hall Pitcher 

Last year's BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year remains one of the conference's best in the circle. Kelsey Carr went 139 1/3 innings, including seven full in  five of the Pirates' final six to close the regular season. 

She is red-hot heading into the conference tournament, striking out 30 over the final six games to give her 118 punchouts on the season. Seton Hall went 7-of-9 in her final nine appearances, including BIG EAST wins over Providence, UConn, St. John's and DePaul. 

London Jarrard, St. John's Shortstop 

London Jarrard powered St. John's at the plate virtually across the board. The All-BIG EAST honoree is batting .324 with a 1.014 OPS, 10 home runs, 50 RBI and 14 doubles — all team-bests. 

Cate Lehner, Butler Outfielder 

A .341 hitter with 24 stolen bases on 26 attempts, Cate Lehner is a two-way weapon for the Butler offense. Lehner garnered All-BIG EAST recognition for her ability to get on base and make opponents pay when aboard. 

She has also been solid defensively with 64 put-outs, five assists and three double-plays turned in the regular season. 

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