Julie Bennett

Winter is coming to Auburn softball in 2018 in the form of two helpings of Snow.

The return of Tannon Snow, who missed last season with an undisclosed illness, and the addition of Taylon Snow, her younger sister, should help Auburn fill two voids in its infield following the departures of shortstop Haley Fagan and third baseman Kasey Cooper.

Tannon Snow could return at first base and split time as the designated player, which could send Kendall Veach across the infield to third. However, Veach could also spend time at catcher following the departure of Carlee Wallace.

Auburn's pitching rotation adds a pair of freshmen that should help take some of the workload off Kaylee Carlson and Makayla Martin.

Note: This story was updated on June 15 following Wallace's decision to transfer

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Dakota Sumpter/Auburn Athletics

Pitcher

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Kaylee Carlson, senior

Makayla Martin, junior

Ashlee Swindle, sophomore

Kara Bilodeau, freshman OR

Alexa Nemeth, redshirt-freshman OR

Chardonnay Harris, freshman

Kaylee Carlson is clearly the returning ace of the staff. She went 27-5 with a 1.36 ERA en route to earning third team All-American and first team All-SEC honors. It'll be hard for Auburn to ask more from Carlson in her senior season, but lowering her workload a bit might be preferable considering her through over 200 innings last season.

Without the comfort of being able to pitch from ahead, Makayla Martin had an understandably rocky season as a sophomore. The impending pitching coach hire might have its greatest impact on Martin as she enters her junior season.

Ashlee Swindle probably should've seen more action as a freshman and did nothing short of an outstanding job in her three starts when Martin was suspended. Swindle's biggest task entering her sophomore season is to not be as susceptible to giving up the long ball. She gave up three home runs in 34 innings compared to three allowed by Martin in over 155.

Auburn adds signees Kara Bilodeau and Chardonnay Harris and both should see action next season.

Bilodeau is considered a power pitcher, which would be a shift for Auburn should it choose to emphasize strikeouts more moving forward. Harris is a left-hander, which instantly makes her a viable option for at least spot matchup appearances if not much more.

Alexa Nemeth was thought to be a candidate to work in a closer-like role due to her changeup but ended up redshirting last season. A new pitching coach should dictate how she's used next season.

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Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com

Catcher

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Courtney Shea, senior

Kendall Veach, junior

Breanna Gutierrez, redshirt-freshman OR

Abby Tissier, freshman

Carlee Wallace's departure leaves a void as the starting catcher that will likely be filled by Courtney Shea, whose left-handed bat is valuable later in the batting order.

Kendall Veach is also considered a capable defensive catcher and could spend time at the position as well when Shea is at DP.

Breanna Gutierrez is coming off a redshirt season and is joined by Abby Tissier, a Hoover native who is likely Auburn's catcher of the future. If Tissier proves ready, she could see time as the backup catcher.

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Wesley Sinor

First base

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Tannon Snow, redshirt-sophomore OR

Kendall Veach, junior

Courtney Shea, senior OR

Justus Perry, sophomore

First base could see a change as long as Tannon Snow is able to return and is fully healthy.

Should that be the case, Snow would likely bump Kendall Veach over to third base but otherwise Veach should return at first and possibly split time at catcher. It could be possible for Auburn to try and take some of the physical load off Snow after a missed season and have her rotate as the DP, which would mean Courtney Shea could play first.

Justus Perry appeared in 26 games with 20 at-bats as a freshman with nine RBI on five hits, all singles. Perry is a bit of a free swinger but her defense is where she needs most improvement.

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Julie Bennett

Second base

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Casey McCrackin, junior

KK Crocker, sophomore

Makenna Dowell, freshman OR

Mackenzie Nutt, freshman

Emily Spain, senior

Second base was a revolving door for Auburn in 2017 and it's possible for more changes to come in 2018.

Casey McCrackin had a rough regular season but delivered several big hits in the postseason. Whether she can carry that over into what will be her junior season could dictate if she remains the starter.

KK Crocker appeared to be on her way to locking down the job before a knee injury threw a wrench in her true freshman season. She was the team's leading hitter in fall ball but didn't see in translate into last season. However, as a left-handed slap hitter with great speed Crocker offers a lot.

Auburn adds signees Makenna Dowell and Mackenzie Nutt to the mix at second and both should have a chance to compete for the job. Dowell is known for her defense whereas Nutt is a more accomplished hitter.

It's unclear what Emily Spain's plans are following her unexplained "leave of absence" from the program during the second half of the season.

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Julie Bennett

Third base

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Kendall Veach, junior OR

Tannon Snow, redshirt-sophomore

Mackenzie Nutt, freshman OR

Makenna Dowell, freshman

Kasey Cooper's departure along with the transfer of Laney Joyner leaves third base wide open and only Kendall Veach seems to be fit to take over.

Veach has the range to play third and should be the starter there unless Tannon Snow were to come back on the left side of the infield, which is considered less likely.

But reps behind the plate now open, Veach may need to spend time at catcher as well and leave the door open to a freshman.

Of Auburn's three infield signees, Nutt is the most likely to see time at third base.

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Taylon Snow

Shortstop

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Taylon Snow, freshman

Casey McCrackin, junior

KK Crocker, sophomore

Mackenzie Nutt, freshman

Few things are more certain in Auburn's lineup than Taylon Snow being the next shortstop. She is Auburn's top recruit and considered one of the best players in the country.

Add to it that Auburn has few other viable options and Snow is the obvious choice.

McCrackin and Crocker are both capable of playing short, though McCrackin has the stronger arm.

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Julie Bennett

Left field

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Morgan Podany, junior OR

Carmyn Greenwood, sophomore OR

Livy Schiele, freshman

Jenna Olszewski, freshman

Left field was Auburn's other rotating position in 2017 and will be an open competition heading into 2018.

Morgan Podany is Auburn's best defensive left fielder and has an incredible knack for drawing walks, which is why she had a .426 on-base percentage. But her .217 average and lack of power is what kept Podany from locking down the job.

Carmyn Greenwood offers a lefty bat and is a capable defensive outfielder but she hit just .189 as a true freshman. Her approach was too often to swing on the first pitch, which later in Auburn's order was not always advantageous and was in stark contrast to Podany's more patient style.

Auburn adds signees Livy Schiele and Jenna Olszewski to the outfield and Schiele is most likely to challenge for a starting job immediately.

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Julie Bennett

Center field

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Victoria Draper, redshirt-senior

Bree Fornis, junior

Brittany Maresette, sophomore

Jenna Olszewski, freshman

Victoria Draper will start in center field for the third straight season. She has the best range of any of Auburn's outfielders and is by far the fastest player on the team.

Bree Fornis and Brittany Maresette will be backups in multiple outfield spots on paper and each are options as pinch runners.

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Julie Bennett

Right field

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Alyssa Rivera, sophomore

Carmyn Greenwood, sophomore

Bree Fornis, junior

Jenna Olszewski, freshman

Brittany Maresette, sophomore

After coming off the bench for most of the first half of the season, Alyssa Rivera turned into Auburn's everyday right fielder and has the position locked down entering her sophomore season.

Where Rivera needs most improvement is in approach and plate discipline. She had just 11 walks, lowest among the starters last season, and struck out 30 times.

Several players could be listed as backups in right field but Rivera's got the starting job nailed down.

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Julie Bennett

Designated player

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Courtney Shea, senior OR

Tannon Snow, redshirt-sophomore

Justus Perry, sophomore OR

Kendall Veach, junior

Carmyn Greenwood, sophomore

The designated player role should once again be filled by Courtney Shea when she's not catching, but since that workload will increase it leaves open a hitting-only role.

Tannon Snow could also see time at DP, in which case Shea or Justus Perry would likely be at first on those occasions.

Perry could see time at DP as well if Auburn needs another right-handed bat in the lineup.

Carmyn Greenwood would be a left-handed option.

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Julie Bennett

Batting order

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Victoria Draper (L)

Alyssa Rivera (L) OR

Kendall Veach (R)

Taylon Snow (L) OR

Tannon Snow (R)

Courtney Shea (L)

Casey McCrackin (R) or Morgan Podany (R)

Justus Perry (R) or Carmyn Greenwood (L)

Livy Schiele (L) or KK Crocker (L)

Victoria Draper should lead off Auburn's lineup again in 2018. After Clint Myers was convinced she was best fit for the job, Draper saw her numbers skyrocket in the final quarter of the season.

Carlee Wallace's departure leaves a huge void at the top of the order. There are two different ways Myers could go in shaping the lineup after Draper: A small-ball approach with a high OBP batter like Morgan Podany, who could also allow Draper to steal more and possibly bunt or move over via ground balls, or power with Alyssa Rivera and Kendall Veach.

While Veach has the most power, she also strikes out a lot and is right-handed. Rivera is powerful in her own right and is a lefty, but also a very free swinger.

Fourth and fifth could also be interchangeable spots based on pitcher but Taylon and Tannon Snow could both hit in the middle of the Auburn order or if either shows they can handle the greater number of at-bats, then the 2 hole is open.

For now, Courtney Shea is penciled in as sixth to provide a disciplined hitter in the middle of the order.

Who is playing catching will impact the DP spot, which in turn will impact the sequence hitters at the bottom of the order.

The competitions at second base and left field should dictate the eight and nine spots, with speed more likely to end up in the nine hole.