Mickey Dean and Auburn’s softball team are beginning to shake awake.

The Tigers reported to their first practice of the year on Jan. 4 in preparation of Auburn’s season-opening weekend on Feb. 9-11, when they’ll host the Tiger Invitational at Jane B. Moore Field.

Since then, preseason rankings and accolades have started to roll in for Dean’s squad, which posted a 43-19 record last spring as Auburn punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

Softball America was the first preseason poll to come out on Jan. 12 and it pinned the Tigers as the 20th-best team in the country and the sixth-best team in SEC (not including Oklahoma and Texas, which will get their SEC debut during the 2025 season).

In placement that’s sure not to ruffle any feathers, Softball America ranked Alabama one spot behind Auburn at No. 21.

Come Jan. 16, D1 Softball was the next outlet to release its rankings and tabbed Auburn as the 19th-best team in the country and, again, the sixth-best team in the SEC. Interestingly, D1 Softball ranked Alabama No. 12.

The third set of rankings came out on Jan. 23 as ESPN.com and Softball America’s poll listed Auburn as the 20th-best team in the country and the seventh-best team in the SEC. ESPN.com and Softball America’s poll was the only of the major three softball outlets to put Florida ahead of Auburn.

On Jan. 24, the SEC released its preseason coaches poll, which saw the league’s coaches predict a fifth-place finish in the conference for the Tigers. While Tennessee and Georgia received six first-place votes, the Volunteers narrowly edged out the Bulldogs as the favorites to win the SEC title in 2024.

Auburn pitcher Maddie Penta and shortstop Nelia Peralta also both landed on the preseason all-SEC team after the tandem turned in all-SEC seasons in 2023.

For Penta, the recognition was just another to add to her list as she’s continued to garner buzz this preseason after being named the SEC Pitcher of the Year and an NFCA First Team All-American following the 2023 season.

During her junior campaign in 2023, Penta led the SEC in wins last year with 27 — tying Auburn’s program record. The Maryland native also finished second in the nation in strikeouts last season after tallying 303, making her just the second pitcher in program history to notch a 300-strikeout season.

Heading into her final season on The Plains, Penta was ranked as the ninth-best player in the country in both D1 Softball’s Preseason Top-100 and Softball America’s Top-100 Players. Penta also ranked as the third-best pitcher by Softball America’s Top-25 pitchers rankings and made the cut on USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year Watchlist.

The Auburn softball team is just more than two weeks out from opening its season with a doubleheader against Virginia Tech and Belmont on Feb. 9.