Alabama catcher and captain adds a ‘competitive fire’ to the 2025 softball team

Alabama softball head coach Patrick Murphy asked each member of his team the same four questions as always following the Crimson Tide’s 2024 season end in the Women’s College World Series.

What did they like? What did they not like? What would they like to see more of? And finally, if they could vote for a captain that day, who would they choose?

That one was unanimous. Marlie Giles and Kendal Clark made everyone’s list. Giles, a junior catcher from Chilton County, caught Murphy’s eye throughout the offseason as well.

“I really think Marlie Giles grew up a lot in the offseason,” Murphy told reporters Tuesday, noting that she and Clark were voted captains entering the 2025 campaign.

Giles batted .305 last season, with seven home runs and 14 RBI. She started 32 of the Crimson Tide’s 40 games in 2024.

She was a reliable fielder as well, with only one error throughout the year. Giles was named No. 85 on Softball America’s preseason top 100 entering 2025.

“She got stronger in the offseason,” Murphy said. “Her pitch selection’s way better. And obviously she’s a very, very competitive person behind the plate, and I think that’s what this pitching staff needs, is somebody like her.”

With Kayla Beaver out of eligibility, Alabama has five pitchers vying to become the team’s ace. The most likely candidate is Jocelyn Briski, who started 15 games with a 2.2 ERA last season.

Briski, a sophomore from Phoenix, Ariz., said Giles pressense behind the plate is huge for the staff.

“If you want someone who’s competitive, she’s your girl,” Briski said. “She refuses to lose. She refuses to quit. I mean, in our scrimmages, she has been the one that has been arguing everything, trying to win.

“That competitive fire is just naturally in her, and it just fires me up as a pitcher, knowing that my battery mate, my catcher, always wants to win. It just makes me always want to win and fires me up.”

Giles starred in the second game of Alabama’s trip to the WCWS last season, a win over Duke that was the Crimson Tide’s lone victory in Oklahoma City. In the first inning of that game, Giles doubled to right center, scoring UA’s first run of the game.

Then, in the sixth inning with the game tied, she hit the home run that gave the Tide the 2-1 win. Murphy said that he’s seen a spark of power from Giles, who is also one of the team’s “green light girls” on the basepaths, with the OK to try and steal at any time.

“She’s took off from then,” Murphy said. “Even in the scrimmage on Sunday, she hit a home run.”

Alabama opens the season on Friday in Phoenix, facing Washington to begin the Candrea Classic. The game is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. CT.