PROVIDENCE, R.I. – UCF was the preseason favorite to claim the 2015 American Athletic Conference softball title in voting by the league’s seven head coaches. The Knights received five of the seven first-place votes.
UCF finished 43-18 (15-3 in league play) last season and won the program’s first regular season championship in the inaugural campaign of the American Athletic Conference. The Knights return 19 members of last year’s championship squad, including American Player of the Year, Farrah Sullivan, and three 20-win pitchers in Shelby Turnier, Mackenzie Audas and Jamie Ujvari.
Tulsa finished second in the preseason poll with 29 points and garnered a first-place vote after posting an overall record of 53-9 last year that included Conference USA regular season and tournament championships. The Hurricane is ranked No. 21 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 preseason poll and No. 22 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 preseason poll, which was unveiled this week.
USF took third place with 27 points and Houston followed in fourth with 24 points and a first-place vote. The Bulls return 60-percent of its run production from a year ago, including 2014 American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year Juli Weber, while the Cougars look to build on their fourth straight NCAA tournament bid from last season.
East Carolina was picked fifth in the preseason poll with 14 points. Memphis received 13 points to finish sixth, followed by UConn (six points) in seventh.
Points for the preseason poll were awarded on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis and coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
The 2015 softball season begins on Thursday, February 5. Conference play starts on Saturday, March 21. The American Athletic Conference Championship will be held at UCF Softball Complex in Orlando on May 7-9.
Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Place School Points First-Place Votes
1. UCF 34 5
2. Tulsa 29 1
3. USF 27
4. Houston 24 1
5. East Carolina 14
6. Memphis 13
7. UConn 6
