LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After making its second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season, the Anderson softball team earned votes in the 2015 NFCA Division II Preseason Poll that was released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Wednesday.
Wingate was the top representative from the South Atlantic Conference at No. 25, with AU and Lenoir-Rhyne each earning votes.
The Trojans are the defending conference tournament champions and earned a share of last season's regular-season conference title, while posting a school-record 43 victories.
Coming off its first national championship, West Texas A&M (60-7) was the unanimous No. 1 selection. The Lady Buffs received all 16 first place votes to earn the top spot in the poll, with national runner-up Valdosta State (48-15) not far behind in the second spot with 381 points.
Valdosta State finished just six points ahead of No. 12 Alabama Huntsville. Last year's NCAA semifinalists Dixie State (51-10) and Southeastern Oklahoma State (45-20) came in at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, while another championship participant Wayne State/Mich. (46-12) rounded out the top five.
The next three squads, West Chester (42-22), LIU Post (50-11) and Armstrong Atlantic (36-15) also competed in last year's DII Softball National Championships. Rounding out the top 10 are super regional participants, North Georgia (47-11) and Cal State Monterey Bay (48-12).
In all, 17 conferences were represented, eight of which had two programs each; California Collegiate (Cal State Monterey Bay, Humboldt State), Great Lakes Valley (Indianapolis, Missouri St. Louis), Gulf South (Alabama Huntsville, Valdosta State), Lone Star (West Texas, Angelo State), Northern Sun (Winona State, Augustana (S.D.)) Pac West (Dixie State, California Baptist), Peach Belt (Armstrong Atlantic, North Georgia) and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (West Chester, California (Pa.).
The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. Final 2014 records and rankings are shown, while first-place votes are in parentheses.
Rank Team 2014
Record Totals Final 2014 Poll
1 West Texas A&M (16) 60-7 400 1
2 Valdosta State 48-15 381 2
3 Dixie State 51-10 367 3
4 Southeastern Okla. St. 45-20 351 4
5 Wayne State (Mich) 46-12 311 7
6 West Chester 42-22 293 6
7 LIU Post 50-11 278 8
8 Armstrong Atlantic 36-15 273 5
9 North Georgia 47-11 240 10
10 Cal State Monterey Bay 48-12 238 11
11 Angelo State 41-16 226 16
12 Alabama-Huntsville 48-12 225 12
13 Missouri-St. Louis 49-8 203 13
14 Augustana (S.D.) 46-15 200 15
15 Caldwell 45-9 171 14
16 St. Mary's (Texas) 50-14 169 9
17 Tampa 33-8 133 18
18 Emporia State 49-14 111 20
19 Humboldt State 46-16 110 RV
20 West Virginia Wesleyan 46-15 102 17
21 Indianapolis 44-13 88 21
22 Winona State 48-9 58 24
23 California Baptist 46-13 56 19
24 California (Pa.) 37-7 41 23
25 Wingate 38-20 32 RV
Others Receiving Votes: Rollins (30), Southern New Hampshire (23),
Texas Woman's (23), Truman State (17), Shorter (15),
Anderson (12), Central Oklahoma (6), New Haven
(6), Palm Beach Atlantic (5), USC Aiken (3), Missouri Western (2),
Lenoir Rhyne (1).
