Tim McDonnell
RICHMOND, Va. (January 27, 2016) – Coming off its third straight NCAA tournament appearance, James Madison was picked to win the 2016 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) softball title according to a vote by the league’s eight head coaches.
For the second straight year, the Dukes earned the top spot in the poll unanimously, receiving seven first-place votes (coaches can’t vote for their own teams) for 56 points. 2015 CAA champion Hofstra, coming off its fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance, was selected to finish second with 49 points and grabbed the remaining first-place vote. College of Charleston (39), Elon (38) and Towson (37) followed closely for third, fourth and fifth-place, while Delaware (24) was tabbed sixth. UNCW (19) and Drexel (16) rounded out the voting.
After racking up 45 wins and a CAA title in 2014, Madison quickly established itself nationally in 2015, setting a new CAA benchmark with a solid 48-10 overall record – the best single-season record in league history. The Dukes, led by fourth-year skipper Mickey Dean, finished last spring with a perfect 19-0 record in CAA play, won a program-record 36-straight games from March 8 to May 7 and capped the year with a No. 22 ranking in both national polls as well as a top-15 RPI ranking.
Following a CAA title game loss to Hofstra in Harrisonburg, the Dukes were still rewarded with the No. 15 overall seed in last year’s NCAA Softball Championship and were able to stay home to host their own regional. In conference history, Hofstra (2006-08) and Madison are the lone programs to host their own regionals in NCAA play.
This spring, JMU returns 15 players and every starter from last season’s squad. Pitching should once again be the focal point for the current No. 19 Dukes as the team’s two starters, sophomore Megan Good and senior Jailyn Ford, were both named National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Americans. The right-handed Good earned Second Team honors and the left-handed Ford garnered Third Team recognition.
Good finished last season as one of Division I’s best freshmen after being named a top-10 finalist for NFCA Freshman of the Year award. The defending CAA Pitcher and Rookie of the Year completed her first collegiate season with a 29-3 record in the circle and a 1.05 ERA. She limited foes to a .164 batting average and led the CAA with 199 strikeouts over 193.1 innings of work. Good was equally dangerous at the plate, finishing the season batting .372, to go with 10 home runs, 43 RBI, 29 runs and a .607 slugging percentage. A native of Mount Sidney, Va., the hard-throwing righty broke four JMU single-season pitching records -wins (29), ERA (1.05), opposing batting average and combined shutouts (4). She began her freshman campaign winning her first 26 decisions, which led the Division I for wins without a loss, and did not earn her first defeat until the CAA Championship.
Ford, the 2015 CAA Player of the Year, finished her junior season with a .383 batting average, to go with 11 home runs, 44 RBI, 44 runs and a .704 slugging percentage. In the circle, the lefty went 16-5 with a 2.30 ERA after going over two months without a losing decision between March 8 and May 16. She averaged 9.83 strikeouts per-game, accumulating 192 total strikeouts in 136.2 innings of work. The Hot Springs, Va., native enters her senior season already holding four career records with 64 wins, 24 shutouts, 634 strikeouts and 56 complete games. On top of that, Ford is tied for the Dukes’ career record with 35 homers and is the only Madison player to toss a perfect game, accomplishing the feat against East Carolina last April.
Hofstra, as mentioned, knocked off the host Dukes in last year’s CAA Championship under the direction of then-first-year head coach Larissa Anderson, advancing to its fourth straight NCAA appearance. The Pride, who are receiving votes in both national preseason polls, welcome back eight starters from last year’s squad that went 38-14-1 and moved on to the NCAA Gainesville Regional. HU should have plenty of fire power, as this year’s returners accounted for 54 of the team’s 56 homers last spring while four batters – senior Caryn Bailey, senior Chloe Fitzgerald, senior Kim Smith and junior Lacey Clark – all hit over .300.
Bailey and Fitzgerald were both First Team All-CAA honorees in 2015, with the left-handed Bailey pacing the CAA with 16 homers to go along with a .386 average and 52 RBI and fellow lefty Fitzgerald accounting for 71 hits and a .372 average.
CofC, entering its third season in the CAA, missed last year’s championship tournament after advancing to the semifinals in 2014. The Cougars and third-year coach Linda Kalafatis bring back sophomore utility player Taylor DuPree, who was selected to the All-CAA First Team and All-Rookie as a true freshman last year, as well as senior outfielder Rebecca Mueller. DuPree led the conference with a program-record 26 stolen bases and finished the season with a .364 average despite missing eight contests due to injury. Mueller started all of the team’s 53 games and batted .350 with a team-high 41 RBI and 55 hits.
In its first season in the league last spring, Elon earned the CAA Championship No. 3 seed. The Phoenix posted their highest winning percentage in four years (.585, 31-22) and return pair of sophomores – Kara Shutt and Hannah Olson – who heard their names called to the CAA All-Rookie team one year ago. Junior Alaina Hall earned Second Team All-CAA honors after leading the team with a .358 batting average, 62 hits and four triples in 2015.
Towson won 35 games last season and advanced to the CAA Championship tournament for the third straight year. The Tigers, who won 17 games at their newly renovated Tiger Softball Stadium in 2015, will be led by junior Holiday Cahill and senior Olivia Yarbrough. Cahill finished second in the CAA with a .404 average during her sophomore season and also set a new TU record with 13 home runs. Yarbrough, meanwhile, was named to the All-CAA Second Team last year and batted .356 to go with a team-best 11 stolen bases.
The 2016 CAA Softball Championship is scheduled for May 11-13 at the site of the regular-season champion. Complete championship information will be updated on CAASports.com as details become available.
| 2016 CAA Softball Coaches’ Predicted Order of Finish | |
| 1. | James Madison (56 points) |
| 2. | Hofstra (49) |
| 3. | College of Charleston (39) |
| 4. | Elon (38) |
| 5. | Towson (37) |
| 6. | Delaware (24) |
| 7. | UNCW (19) |
| 8. | Drexel (16) |
