The Georgia softball team has yet to play its first game of the year, but that time is drawing ever closer.

The Bulldogs are No. 10 in the USA Today/NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll.

ASHLEY RAZEY

As head coach Lu Harris-Champer enters her 12th year leading the team, the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll put the Bulldogs at No. 12 in its list of the top 25 preseason softball teams, joining six other Southeastern Conference schools.

The Bulldogs are ranked alongside 10 opponents they will face this season: Florida (No. 2 on the USA Today poll and No. 4 on the ESPN.com poll), Alabama (No. 3/2), Oklahoma (No. 5/6), Arizona (No. 8/8), Washington (No. 12/14), Kentucky (No. 13/18), Tennessee (No. 14/9), UCLA (No. 19/13) and LSU (No. 22/20).

Returning softball all-stars include sophomore Morgan Montemayor, who was selected as the SEC’s freshman of the week on two different occasions.

Montemayor is joined by junior Kristyn Sandberg who was a one-time winner of national players of the week honors, as well as Ashley Razey, who was an all-SEC player last season.

Harris-Champer has enjoyed enormous success as head coach over the span of her time coaching Georgia athletics — and her teams have been steadily climbing the rankings since 2001, when the Bulldogs were unranked. After last season’s 51-14 record, the team ranked No. 9 in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls.

The Bulldogs’ season starts on Feb. 10 with the Red and Black Showcase, which will pit the team against Army at 7 p.m.