In the first year of competing in NCAA Division II and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Davenport University softball had a great season. The Panthers, after being picked to finish fifth in the GLIAC, was the regular season and conference tournament runner-up. Davenport turned in a 17-13 record in conference play and went 35-21 overall. Over the course of the regular season, Davenport had three different student-athletes selected as the GLIAC Hitter of The Week and Mallory Teunissen earned GLIAC Pitcher of The Week three times. In addition, Alexa Flores and Teunissen each were named to the All-GLIAC First Team.

The Panthers come into the 2019 season with a plethora of experience. Davenport only had one player graduate last season and return nearly all their starters. Out of the 10 players who recorded 80 or more at-bats during the 2018 season, Davenport returns nine of those to the 2019 roster. Furthermore, Davenport welcomes Teunissen back to the circle for her senior campaign. Teunissen went 24-9 last season, pitched a 1.77 era, and recorded 238 strikeouts.

Davenport looks to improve upon their conference win total from last year with a deeper pitching core. The Panthers return starters, Ellie Muilenburg and Teunissen while adding four new pitchers to the mix this season. As a team, the Panthers had the second lowest era in the GLIAC with a 2.78 and the second most strikeouts with 311 during the 2018 season.

On the offensive side of the ball, Davenport returns eight players that recorded 30 or more hits. Lauren French, Briana Allen, Kennedy Crawford, Alexis Koza, Madison Jewell, Selene Pauley, Rachel Griffin, and Flores all look to improve upon their offensive outputs from the 2018 season.

With all the pitching and hitting returning this season, the Panthers are not a team to be taken lightly.