Wildcats picked ninth in SB preseason poll
2/5/2021 10:30:00 AM | Softball
ABILENE, Texas — The Southland Conference announced the 2021 Softball preseason poll on Friday morning with ACU voted to finish ninth out of 12 teams. SFA was picked to finish first with 17 first-place votes while McNeese (4), Sam Houston (1), UCA (1), and Northwestern State (1) each tallied first-place votes as well.
Last season was cut short due to COVID-19 but in their short season the Wildcats finished 7-17, 0-3 in Southland play. The only conference team they faced was McNeese and played just one home doubleheader. The team returns a good core of players while also adding some talent and depth via JUCO transfers and their freshman class. In hopes of a full season ahead of them, the Wildcats are poised to show the conference what their new look team can accomplish, including outperforming the poll.
| Place | Team | Points | |||
1. | Stephen F. Austin (17) | 235 | |||
2. | McNeese (4) | 217 | |||
3. | Southeastern Louisiana | 183 | |||
4. | Sam Houston (1) | 172 | |||
5. | Central Arkansas (1) | 162 | |||
6. | Northwestern State (1) | 156 | |||
7. | Nicholls | 131 | |||
8. | Lamar | 86 | |||
9. | Abilene Christian | 82 | |||
10. | Houston Baptist | 81 | |||
11. | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 47 | |||
12. | UIW | 32 |
The Wildcats open their season at home with next weekend's Wildcat Invitational featuring No. 4 Oklahoma, UTEP, Utah Valley, and Tarleton. The Wildcats first game will be Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. against UTEP.
The 2021 preseason softball poll is presented by Ready Nutrition and was voted upon by head coaches and sports information directors from around the conference. Voting for one’s own school is not permitted.
