INDIANAPOLIS - The Trevecca Nazarene Trojans are predicted to finish first among league competitors in the 2021 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Softball Preseason Coaches presented by Under Armour that was released on Thursday.
Trevecca’s program, led by seventh-year head coach Ben Tyree, received 114 total points and seven of the 11 possible first-place votes.
In a shortened 2020 season, Trevecca started off with an eight-game winning streak, ending the season with a record of 15-3. The Trojans broke into the NFCA Coaches Poll at No. 19 and moved up to as high as No. 10 before the season ended early.
The first NFCA rankings of 2021 show the Trojans remaining in the No. 10 spot with unfinished business a likely theme for the talented program with a loaded roster down in Nashville.
Trevecca returns last spring’s top three hitters in Megan Groves (.519), Lenna Robinson (.492) and MaKray Odom (.478), as the Trojans led the league in batting average last season (.378) through all completed games.
Groves was in the midst of a true breakout season as she led the league in slugging percentage (.923) and RBI (29), while Odom led all players with 32 hits. Odom, a two-time Great Midwest Player of the Year at shortstop, is the active career leader in hits among all Divisions and leads DII with a career batting average of .486.
Ohio Dominican, who was predicted as the 2020 preseason favorite, ranks second in the poll with 104 points and received two first-place votes.
The Panthers are led by head coach Marcella Vanlandingham who enters her 26th season at the helm of the program. ODU returns its top hitter from last season in Carson Hackerd, who had 28 hits with a batting average of .412 through 18 games last season. The Panthers posted a team batting average of .268 last season.
ODU is one of the better pitching teams in the conference, as they posted a league-best 2.76 ERA last season. The Panthers return their top two pitchers from a season ago in Sydney Long and Cameron Barber.
Selected to finish third, Hillsdale also received two first-place votes and 90 points. Findlay received the other first-place vote, with the Oilers predicted to finish fourth.
Hillsdale is led by third-year head coach Kyle Gross. The Chargers played in 20 games last season, posting a team batting average of .251.
HC returns top hitters Renee Bielawa (.382) and Madi Stoner (.340), as well as pitcher Dana Weidinger who posted a 3.37 ERA through 45 innings pitched last season. Hillsdale was the last team to be crowned Great Midwest tournament champions, as they have won the tournament in 2018 and 2019.
Findlay is led by sixth-year head coach Danielle Lowe. The Oilers were off to a solid start at 12-6, before the 2020 season was cut short.
Bailey Bates, Dylan Wiley and Lyndsey Seaman, all ranked in the top 25 in batting average last season among conference competitors. Caragyn Yanek led the league in pitching last season with an ERA of 1.58 through 44 innings pitched.
Tiffin, Cedarville, Kentucky Wesleyan and Malone, have all had some very memorable postseason moments in recent history and will look to secure playoff spots if the preseason rankings hold true, occupying spots five through eight. Walsh, Ursuline, Lake Erie and Ohio Valley, round out the preseason coaches poll, predicted to finish ninth through 12th, respectively.
The conference is also looking forward to the addition of Ashland for the 2022 spring season. The Eagles are coached by fourth year head coach Emlyn Knerem.
Non-conference games start today with Ursuline at the Flagler Invitational, while conference play begins on March 26. The conference tournament is scheduled to be held May 6-8 in Findlay.
| School |
Points |
| 1. Trevecca Nazarene (7 first-place votes) |
114 |
| 2. Ohio Dominican (2 first-place votes) |
104 |
| 3. Hillsdale (2 first-place votes) |
90 |
| 4. Findlay (1 first-place vote) |
87 |
| 5. Tiffin |
80 |
| 6. Cedarville |
79 |
| 7. Kentucky Wesleyan |
71 |
| 8. Malone |
55 |
| 9. Walsh |
42 |
| 10. Ursuline |
31 |
| 11. Lake Erie |
28 |
| 12. Ohio Valley |
11 |