CLAREMORE, Okla. – 2022 NCAA Division II National Champions, No. 1 Rogers State softball opens the 2023 season at home against Cameron on Monday, Feb. 6 at the Diamond Sports Complex. First pitch for the doubleheader is set for 3 p.m.
 
The Hillcats will begin the defense of their national championship against the Aggies, who were picked to finish eighth in the Lone Star Conference by the league's coaches in the LSC Preseason Poll. Cameron currently leads the all-time series 7-5 against RSU. However, the Hillcats have won the last five meetings and have won the last four by two or more runs. Last season, RSU claimed their largest win in the series with a 17-2 victory on Feb. 13 in the OC/UCO Invitational in Edmond, Okla. They took a 7-4 win in the Edmond Regional Festival on Feb. 19.
 
The Aggies come into 2023 with new head coach Emma Johansen, who will be making her head coaching debut against the Hillcats. They also bring back a core group of 11 players who made at least 20 starts last year including NFCA National Freshman of the Year finalist and LSC Freshman of the Year Kaiden Boren and All-LSC honoree Khamri Edwards.
 
The Hillcats were unanimously ranked No. 1 in the NFCA Preseason Poll and were tabbed to win the MIAA in the league's preseason coaches poll. While RSU lost two of the best players in Division II softball history in Andrea Morales and Elexis Watson, they return a core of 12 players from the national championship team including MIAA Freshman of the Year Abbey Rogers and All-MIAA performers in Bridgett Morales and Lana Gass. Head coach Andrea Vaughan also brought in nine newcomers, including two Division I transfers in Sara Llamas-Howell and MaKayla Jackson.
 
Rogers was recently named No. 30 in Extra Innings Softball's Division II Extra Elite 100, which ranks the top 100 players in Division II softball. She was the third-highest ranked MIAA player behind Washburn's Jaycee Ginter (No. 8) and Central Oklahoma's Jacee Minter (No. 22).