Commerce, Texas - On Thursday the Lions will play their first softball game of the season after their inaugural 2015 season.

The team will be traveling to San Antonio to play in the St. Mary's Tournament. The first game against Lubbock Christian is at 1 p.m. and will be the first time that A&M-Commerce has faced Lubbock Christian in softball.

"You have to make practices harder than games, and that is what we do," A&M-Commerce head coach Bruister said. "We practice hard so the games, you hope, are not as hard. We have a tough schedule and play in one of the best conferences in the country. Practices are certainly not easy. We push our kids and build them up with confidence. We try to make practices as close to games as we can."

A&M-Commerce has been picked to finish seventh in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll. The LSC is a tough conference coming into the 2016 season with two top 25 teams according to the NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association), with Tarleton State at No. 10 and West Texas A&M at No. 22. The Lions will faceoff against some of the toughest teams in the nation, in only the program's second season.

However, the offseason has gone tremendously well according to Bruister.

"What you do in the offseason as a coach is the recruiting part of it, to replace players that are now gone, fill in some holes," Bruister said. "We feel like we have done a good job in filling those holes and the players work extremely hard. One thing about our team is that they are close they enjoy being around each other and work hard, that is what a team needs to operate right."

Bruister has high expectations for the Lions, not only on the field but also off.

"We dial into the complete athlete, and our goal is to with a National Championship on the field and in the classroom," Bruister added. "It is something that is close to my heart, not on the field part but having goals. I care about the kids, their wellbeing and success in their life."

Last season Bruister had eleven NFCA All-America Scholar athletes in which the player must obtain a 3.5 GPA during season. After the 2015 fall semester 10 players were named to A&M-Commerce's Dean List (3.2) and five to the President's List (4.0). Overall 79 percent of the team had 3.0 or above tying volleyball for the top athletic team at A&M-Commerce.

"We have a tremendous support staff with Judy Sackfield and her crew with the academic center, they are probably the best in division II and the country. It gives our athletes and opportunity to excel in the classroom," Bruister said. "Our kids work hard to be successful," says Bruister.

Going into the 2016 season opening with Lubbock Christian on Thursday Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. in the St. Mary's Tournament the team's leader proved themselves through the 2015 season. Theses leaders have emerged from all academic years including senior veteran Luci Ponce, who had 55 hits including 16 doubles and 10 home runs, scored 46 runs and drove in 44 RBI Other players looking to lead the Lions in 2016 are Tyler Oppenheim, who was an LSC Golden Glove winner, Kylene Hatton, December Rivers and Selena Rima.

In addition to the veterans and the freshmen, the Lions recently added two transfers Hayley Colwell and Anna Hitt who both bring depth and experience to the team. Colwell previously played for Bruister at Texas Woman's and is playing her final season as a Lion. Hitt comes from Weatherford College to fill in for depth in the circle.

The Lions are still new to the LSC in softball but they are not cubs. The team ranked high in statistics in both the Conference and NCAA DII following the 2015 season. The 2015 season was the best NCAA Division II start up in modern history with a 29-24 record.

The Lions play in two tournaments leading up on conference play; St. Mary's tournament and the A&M-Kingsville tournament. In addition the team will travel to California to play Academy of Art and Dominican University. Conference play begins on Feb 26 with a double header at Cameron.

Fans can follow all the action from the 2014-15 season on www.LionAthletics.com, through twitter @Lion_Athletics and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LionsAthletics.