Louisiana is a softball hotbed, and Louisiana Tech is starting to be sick of being left behind for other powerful programs in the Bayou State. At one time, the Lady Techsters were among the most feared softball programs in all the land. Nowadays, they’re trying to build themselves back up to being a consistent NCAA Tournament threat with Super Regional (or more) potential. 

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It’s a winding path to get to that point, but a coach that is steadily building things up and a crop of exciting talent helps make Louisiana Tech an intriguing mid-major to watch for the 2025 season — especially if it’s able to pull off an upset or two at the season-opening Puerto Vallarta College Challenge next week.

Here’s a look ahead at what to expect out of Louisiana Tech softball at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge next month, which is to be streamed live and exclusively on FloCollege:

How Did Louisiana Tech Softball Do In 2024?

Last year was a solid one for Lady Techster softball as the season featured impressive nonconference victories over the likes of Illinois, San Diego State, Georgia Tech and McNeese State (three times), among others, but some hot-and-cold spurts in Conference USA play led to a 13-11 conference record, third-place finish in the league standings and an elimination after three games in the CUSA Tournament. That being said, things are definitely going in the right direction in Ruston. It was the third straight season of 32 wins or more for Louisiana Tech as coach Josh Taylor ended up taking home the CUSA Coach of the Year award to lead the team accolade-wise, with catcher Brooke Diaz and outfielder Alexis Gilio earning First Team All-CUSA selections in the meantime. On the flip side, it has been six years since Louisiana Tech — once a frequent fixture at the Women’s College World Series — made the NCAA Tournament despite playing in a state known for stellar college softball programs, such as Louisiana and LSU, who have 12 WCWS trips between them. Can the Lady Techsters find a way to break out and join the Tigers and Ragin’ Cajuns in being among college softball’s elite?

Who Coaches Louisiana Tech Softball?

Josh Taylor enters his fourth season in Ruston having already been a two-time CUSA Coach of the Year winner. That’s as good of a sign as any that the Lady Techsters (who signed Taylor to a restructured contract in the offseason that runs through 2029) have the right guy in charge of things. The former college baseball player began coaching softball at the junior college level in 2009 before joining the staff at Nevada, his alma mater, in 2013 as an assistant. He spent three seasons as an assistant with the Wolf Pack before being promoted to head coach in 2017, being well-respected as he never had a losing season in Reno (with the exception of the pandemic-canceled 2020 campaign) before taking the open job at Louisiana Tech following the 2021 season. He immediately made an impact in Ruston, winning the CUSA regular-season title in his first year in charge to go along with 39 games and his first conference coach of the year award. Back-to-back 32-win campaigns have followed under his direction, and the Lady Techsters were picked last week to finish fourth in the CUSA preseason poll behind Liberty, Western Kentucky and New Mexico State, in that order.

Has Louisiana Tech Softball Ever Won The Women’s College World Series?

No, Louisiana Tech has never won the Women’s College World Series, though it has qualified to the final stage of the college softball season on three occasions, all in the 1980s (1983, 1985, 1986). The Lady Techsters’ prime was in the 80s as they made every NCAA Tournament from 1983-89, but they’ve only made it back to the Regional round four times since and most recently in 2019.

Who Will Louisiana Tech Softball Play At The Puerto Vallarta College Challenge?

Louisiana Tech softball will square up against Northern Colorado twice (5 p.m. ET Feb. 6, 2 p.m. Feb. 8), Florida State twice (2 p.m. Feb. 7, 5 p.m. Feb. 8) and Oklahoma State once (5 p.m. Feb. 7) across three days of play at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, played entirely at Nancy Almaraz Field in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and streamed live and exclusively on FloCollege. It is the ninth time that event — which was the first college softball event ever to take place outside the United States upon its launch — has taken place in the sunny resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, and Louisiana Tech will take part in Session #1 of the event to be held from Feb. 6-8.

All games from both sessions at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge will be streamed live and only on FloCollege.

Notable Returning Players

Alexis Gilio, OF

Just how important is Gilio to the Lady Techsters? Well, all you need to do is take one look at Louisiana Tech’s stats from last season; among qualifying players, she was the team’s best hitter batting average-wise by over a tenth of a point. Finishing among the leaders in Conference USA last season with a .383 average, Gilio hit the ground running in her first season in Ruston after spending two seasons at BYU, knocking 64 hits (a CUSA best) to go along with 22 RBIs, 30 runs and 14 stolen bases last season for the Lady Techsters. Without her reliability at the plate, Louisiana Tech likely would’ve won far fewer games last season as no qualifying player on the roster got on base more (.443 on-base percentage), not to mention that she was tough to strike out with just 22 punch-outs in 167 at-bats. Well-established now as one of the most feared contact hitters in the CUSA, Gilio’s supporting cast and how it develops will probably be more crucial to the Lady Techsters’ success this year as she needs support at the plate.

Allie Floyd, RHP

The junior ace of the Lady Techsters backed up her impressive first college season in which she was named the CUSA Freshman of the Year by picking up a Second Team All-CUSA selection a year ago in her second year, posting a 13-9 record with a 2.87 ERA in a team-high 146⅓ innings pitched. In 2024 alone, Floyd became the first sophomore at Louisiana Tech to pick up at least 10 pitching wins in a season since 2017, had nine complete games and two shutouts and only allowed a .245 batting average against her across 35 appearances in all on the mound for the Lady Techsters. Her and Brook Melnychuk had the bulk of the pitching starts for Louisiana Tech last season, but with Melnychuk having transferred to Clemson in the offseason, that leaves a lot of innings left behind for Floyd to eat up — and added potential to prove herself to be a contender for the CUSA Pitcher of the Year award this season, too. 

Notable Newcomers

Reese Torres, C

Out is First Team All-CUSA backstop Brooke Diaz, in comes an experienced catcher from the transfer portal to try and keep things stable behind the plate for the Lady Techsters. Torres comes to the south from George Washington in the nation’s capital, starting 66 of her 88 games played with the Revolutionaries across two seasons in which she had 11 home runs and 39 RBIs combined. Her sophomore year in Washington, D.C. last season was her best to date, batting .284 with five homers, five doubles and 21 RBIs across 81 plate appearances as George Washington finished over .500 in 2024. Torres should compete for the Lady Techsters’ starting catcher spot with returner and sophomore Karolyn Glover (nine games, one start last season) and Cal State Fullerton transfer Addison Snyder, but of those three, Torres by far brings the most in-game college experience to the table as the junior will be aiming to make an impact right away with her new team at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.

Ryleigh Shull, LHP

One of the best high school softball recruits to pass through Ruston in quite some time, Shull was named to D1Softball’s D100 Freshman Watch List along with plenty of other big-time names that went to Power 4 programs, further driving the point home that the lefty has the potential to be a program-changing type of player for the Lady Techsters. The West Virginia native dominated at the prep level as she was a three-time first team all-state nominee and ranked as the No. 36 player in her class by Extra Innings Softball, making her a huge get for Louisiana Tech, especially after Melnychuk’s transfer leaves the chances open for some shuffling in the Lady Techsters’ pitching setup. As noted previously in this piece with former CUSA Freshman of the Year Floyd, Louisiana Tech has no problem with letting first-year pitchers loose and throwing them into the fire immediately; Shull could be the next in line to earn a major role for the Lady Techsters’ right away, and if they play their cards right, they could end up having one of the most dominant one-two pitching punches in the CUSA this spring.

2025 Louisiana Tech Softball Roster 

(Name, Position, Class, Hometown)

• Allie Floyd, RHP, Jr., East Bernard, Texas
• Alannah Rogers, OF, Jr., Surprise, Ariz.
• Kaylee Grealy, UTL, Jr., Fresno, Calif.
• Addison Snyder, C, R-Fr., Castaic, Calif.
• Claire Raley, INF, Sr., Clovis, Calif.
• KB Briley, INF, R-Sr., Sterlington, La.
• Allie Furr, OF, R-Fr., Ruston, La.
• Alyssa Martin, RHP, Sr., Minden, La.
• Laney Johnson, P/UTL, Fr., Stonewall, La.
• Elena Heng, OF, Fr., Bossier City, La.
• Paris Endris, 1B, Jr., Bossier City, La.
• Jina Baffuto, INF, Jr., Bossier City, La.
• Karli Sellers, OF, Soph., West Monroe, La.
• Reagan Marchant, INF, R-Soph., Hilton Head, S.C.
• Alexis Gilio, OF, Sr., Lafayette, Colo.
• Gracie Flores, INF, Soph., Berthoud, Colo.
• Ryleigh Shull, LHP, Fr., Hamlin, W.Va.
• Karolyn Glover, C, Soph., Reno, Nev.
• Nicole Hammoude, SS, R-Sr., Oakland, Calif.
• Mattison Buster, RHP, Soph., Sulphur Springs, Texas
• Reese Torres, C, Jr., Great Falls, Va.

How To Watch the 2025 Puerto Vallarta College Challenge

Watch the 2025 Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on FloSoftball and the FloSports App.

FloSoftball will be streaming several NCAA Division I College Softball tournaments including the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, Rocket City Softball Showcase, FAU Paradise Classic, and the FAU Joan Joyce Classic.

2025 PVCC Team List - Session 1:

• Florida State
• Louisiana Tech
• Northern Colorado
• Oklahoma State

2025 PVCC Team List - Session 2:

• Boise State
• BYU
• Florida International
• Illinois State
• Indiana
• North Dakota State

When Is The Puerto Vallarta Softball Tournament?

Session 1 for PVCC will take place February 6-9th followed by Session 2 from February 13-16th.

Puerto Vallarta College Challenge 2025 Schedule

PVCC Session 1 schedule (all times CT): 

Feb. 6

• 10 a.m. – Florida State vs. Oklahoma State
• 1 p.m. – Florida State vs. Northern Colorado
• 4 p.m. – Northern Colorado vs. LA Tech

Feb. 7

• 1 p.m. – Florida State vs. LA Tech
• 4 p.m. – Oklahoma State vs. LA Tech
• 7 p.m. – Northern Colorado vs. Oklahoma State

Feb. 8

• 1 p.m. – LA Tech vs. Northern Colorado
• 4 p.m. – LA Tech vs. Florida State
• 7 p.m. – Oklahoma State vs. Florida State

PVCC Session 2 schedule (all times CT):

Feb. 12

• Noon – North Dakota State vs. BYU

Feb. 13

• 10 a.m. – Florida International vs. Boise State
• 1 p.m. – Florida International vs. North Dakota State
• 4 p.m. – BYU vs. Illinois State
• 7 p.m. – Indiana vs. North Dakota State

Feb. 14

• 10 a.m. – Florida International vs. Illinois State
• 12:30 p.m. – Florida International vs. North Dakota State
• 3 p.m. – Illinois State vs. Indiana
• 6 p.m. – Boise State vs. Indiana
• 8:30 p.m. – Boise State vs. BYU

Feb. 15

• 10 a.m. – Illinois State vs. North Dakota State
• 1 p.m. – Indiana vs. BYU
• 4 p.m. – BYU vs. Florida International
• 7 p.m. – Boise State vs. Florida International

Where Is The Puerto Vallarta Softball Tournament?  

The Puerto Vallarta College Challenge is at Nancy Almaraz Field in Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico.

The Puerto Vallarta College Challenge 2025 Stream

The Puerto Vallarta College Challenge is streaming on FloSoftball and the FloSports app. Replays of the games, highlights and more breaking news will be on both platforms. 

You make the call 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 or 𝐎𝐮𝐭?

The @uwsoftball vs @ou_softball was a wild one 😳 this early in the season@pvcollegesb#PVCC #collegesoftball #ncaasoftball #d1softball pic.twitter.com/rwLewNE6Iq

— FloSoftball (@FloSoftball) February 10, 2024

FloSoftball Archived Footage

Video footage from the event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloSoftball subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.

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