BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford softball team will return to the field for its 2021 season with a home series against the University of Kentucky starting on Friday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. at the Samford Softball Field.
 
Head Coach Mandy Burford-Johnson will be heading into her 10th season with the Bulldogs. Burford-Johnson currently sits at 219 career wins, the most in program history, as she enters this new season of competition. She is also joined by her two assistants Lexie Higgins (third season) and Kaitlin Lee (second season).
 

 
Samford is getting tested right out of the gate with its first weekend series against the ranked Kentucky Wildcats. They will also face fellow SEC teams, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, later down the road this season.
 
"I do like to schedule difficult opponents. I think the better pitching and better hitters we can see leading into SoCon play is normally the ideal goal," said Burford-Johnson. "A three-game series against an SEC opponent isn't always what I am looking for, but with the COVID restrictions and hosting multi-team tournaments it's been a challenge, and we weren't going to back down from a challenge."
 
Burford-Johnson also highlighted the upcoming competition she and her team will face in South Conference play this season.
 
"It's interesting because everyone basically has two recruiting classes of kids we have not seen. There were a lot of names on the preseason ballots that we voted off statistics because I didn't even have a mental image of what they look like," said Burford-Johnson. "I think it will be a draw. There will always be hard-fought competition every weekend. I don't think there is a weak team in the league."
 
Samford also returned three seniors after the shortened season, including Whitney Hinton, Kathryn Jackson and Taylor DeCelles.
 
"They have nicknamed themselves the Super Seniors, so they are my fifth-year seniors," Burford-Johnson said. "Leadership is definitely not in question this year. They have really taken on a new role. I was on maternity leave in the fall and I don't think they missed a beat. Those three girls and my assistants took over and have been the rock and solid foundation that we've needed."
 
Burford-Johnson is also returning Timberlyn Shurbutt for the upcoming season. Shurbutt was recently named Preseason Second-Team All-Conference despite there only being a total of 26 games last season.
 
"Timberlyn has just been awesome. She was a transfer so you never know what you are going to get," said Burford-Johnson. "Last year, she was set for a breakout season. She was really figuring out her swing, and now she's got her confidence and swagger back that she had coming out of high school and travel ball. She's going to do big things for us at third base and probably hit leadoff."
 
This season's pitching staff will include Taylor Decelles, Emily Barnett, McKenna Gillespie, Megan Robertson, and Preseason SoCon Pitcher of the Year, Abby Swaney.

"Honestly, when the season ended last year with the COVID shutdown, our pitching staff was probably the backbone of our team," said Burford-Johnson. "It's been a while since we could say that, and I think Kaitlin Lee has done a tremendous job with them. The five we are bringing back all do something different, and they all complement each other."
 
"I was hesitant to nominate Abby Swaney, because I don't like to nominate freshmen that don't have any stats. She had some statistics and they were really good, so I was like let's throw her name out there," Burford-Johnson said. "Abby Swaney, she's special and spins it really well. I think she has raised the bar and level of play for all five of them."