CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina softball team will kick off the 2024 season with their first of four home tournaments at St. John Stadium this weekend. The Chants will face Syracuse, George Washington, Bucknell, and Campbell during the three-day tournament which will take place February 9-11.

• The Chants will host its first of four home tournaments at St. John Stadium and will welcome Syracuse, George Washington, Bucknell, and Campbell to the beach.
• The Chants have posted a 40-24 record over the course of 14 Kickin' Chicken Classic tournaments that have been hosted in Conway, S.C.
• This is the first time Syracuse, George Washington, and Bucknell have competed in the Kickin' Chicken Classic. Campbell made one appearance back in 2020.

• Coastal Carolina was picked to finish 6th in the 2024 Sun Belt Conference coaches' preseason poll after receiving 81 votes. SBC reigning champion Louisiana received all 12 first-place votes and was picked to finish first.
• Sophomore Delaney Keith and graduate student Iyanla De Jesus were both selected to the 2024 All-Sun Belt preseason team.
• This is the third straight year that De Jesus has earned preseason all-conference honors. The Mill Creek, Wash., native concluded the 2023 season leading the team with a .347 batting average and recorded 14 multi-hit and 10 multi-RBI games.
• Kieth excelled during her freshman season, ranking in the top 10 in the conference in doubles (14), OPS (1.063), and hit-by-pitches (7). The third baseman also recorded four walk-off wins for the Chants and was one of three sophomores to pick up this preseason honor.

• The Orange finished ninth in the ACC during the 2023 season and posted a 24-26-1, 7-15-1 ACC record.
• Syracuse was picked to finish 10th in the 2024 ACC preseason coaches' poll.
• The Orange did not have any players named to the ACC preseason team, but will return sophomore Madelyn Lopez, who led the team with a .306 batting average in 2023.
• Syracuse will also bring back both of its starting pitchers Madison Knight and Lindsey Hendrix, who recorded a combined total of 220 strikeouts.

• GW posted a 17-28 overall record and went 7-19 in A10 Conference play.
• The Revolutionaries will return home run leader Reese Torres along with starting pitcher Rose Cano who recorded 115 strikeouts in 2023.

• Bucknell went 16-30 overall and 8-10 in Patriot League Conference play during the 2023 season.
• Zoie Smith landed a spot on the 2024 All-Patriot League team after finishing with a team-leading .353 batting average in 2023.

• Campbell is the only opponent at the Kickin' Chicken Classic to post a winning record during the 2023 season, going 42-18.
• The Fighting Camels won their third straight Big South Conference Tournament in 2023 after beating Longwood 7-5.
• This will be Campbell's first year competing in the Coastal Athletic Association conference, where they were predicted to finish second in the preseason coaches' poll. The Fighting Camels received six first-place votes and 109 points, finishing just behind Delaware with 112 points.

• This will be the first encounter between the Chanticleers and the Syracuse Orange.
• Coastal has a 30-79 record versus ACC opponents.

• The Chants have a 1-0 record versus George Washington.
• Coastal's first win versus the Revolutionaries came back in February 2012 when the Chants took a 7-4 win in eight innings.
• CCU has a perfect record at home versus the Revolutionaries.

• Coastal has a 14-4 all-time record versus Bucknell.
• 14 of their 17 matchups have taken place at St. John Stadium with the Chants holding a 10-4 home record. The remaining three contests were at neutral site locations and the Chants swept all three.
• CCU has outscored Bucknell 93-32 and has shut out the Bison on five occasions.
• Their last meeting was in February 2015 when Coastal stormed to an 11-3 win in five innings.

• CCU is 58-17 overall versus Campbell and the Chants are sitting on a four-game win streak in the series.
• The Chants have suffered just four losses at home against the Camels while earning 36 wins at St. John Stadium.
• Coastal has won nine of their last 10 matchups in the series, most recently shutting out the Fighting Camels 3-0 in March 2023. Riley Zana and Livi Payne each drove in RBIs to help the Chants secure the win.