NEW YORK – For back-to-back seasons, St. John’s was picked to be the BIG EAST softball champion when the conference released the Preseason Coaches’ Poll on Tuesday. The Red Storm received six first-place votes and a total of 48 points, as the league’s head coaches ranked the teams one through seven and were not allowed to vote for their own programs.
DePaul received the remaining two first-place votes and was chosen to be the runner-up with 44 points, followed by Butler with 32 points and Villanova with 31 points. Creighton (fifth, 27 points) and Seton Hall (sixth, 21 points) rounded out the top six, while Providence (11) and Georgetown (10) ranked seventh and eighth, respectively.
St. John’s enters 2017 looking to prove it is a top contender after falling to Butler, 10-8, in extra innings, in last year’s BIG EAST championship title game. Following a 29-20/12-7 BIG EAST season, the Johnnies return eight starters and 14 total players from a squad that finished a few outs shy of back-to-back league titles. Guiding the team this season will be Savannah Warren. The junior played her best during league action, leading the team in batting average (.375), hits (21), runs (16) and doubles (5). Warren also finished third in the conference in slugging (.698), sixth in on-base percentage (.485) and tied for fifth in home runs (4). Overall, the All-Region honoree batted .336 with 27 runs and 23 RBI in 45 games, which featured starts at catcher, designated player and third base. She also hit five home runs, 10 doubles and walked 19 times.
For a second-straight year,
DePaul captured the regular season BIG EAST title as the Blue Demons headed into the postseason on a six-game win streak. Overall, DePaul posted a 16-3 conference record and a 27-25 overall showing. Despite the loss of 2016 BIG EAST Player of the Year Morgan Maize, DePaul returns a strong lineup in First Team selections Dylan Christensen and Nicole Pihl. Last season, the now seniors each recorded over 50 at-bats and averaged .421 and .442 batting averages, respectively. They also combined for 10 home runs.
Butler opens the 2017 season after winning the first BIG EAST Championship in program history. The dramatic wins at the BIG EAST Championship gave Butler its first NCAA Tournament appearance and a 28-24 overall record and a 9-7 mark in BIG EAST. The Bulldogs will look to extend their momentum behind sophomore Maggie MacBeth. Last season, the infielder registered an overall batting average if .380 and a .397 average in BIG EAST play. Playing in 48 games, the sophomore also broke Butler’s mark for most hits in a single season with 61.
Villanova is looking to continue the momentum of an impressive 2016 season that saw the team go 32-18 overall and 14-6 in league play. The 14 wins gave the Wildcats their best performance in conference play since 2002. Guided by the 2016 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Kate Poppe, Villanova made it to the semi-finals of the conference championship for a second consecutive year. Following Poppe’s graduation, the Wildcats will look to 2016 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Lauren Hannah, and 2016 First Team honorees Brittany Husk and Lauren Herschberg. The trio combined for 69 hits and 32 runs last season.
Creighton is coming off a campaign that saw the Bluejays extend to a 19-4 stretch over 23 games but drop 10 of its final 11 games of the season. Pushing to get back on a winning streak, the Bluejays will look to senior Allie Reinhart. Last season, the outfielder led the team in doubles (7) and was second in batting average (.336) and RBI (28). Her performance garnered her All-BIG EAST Second Team recognition.
With two All-BIG EAST selections returning,
Seton Hall will push to build off of last season’s 24-30 campaign. Alexis Walkden paced the Pirates across the board offensively, batting .372 with eight home runs and 38 RBI. The third baseman also scored 36 runs, doubled 10 times, tripled twice and stole 12 bases. Her 36 walks set a single-season program record and she ranked top-five in the BIG EAST in home runs, RBI, total bases (96), walks, on-base percentage (.495) and slugging percentage (.615).
Providence comes in 2017 looking to improve on a 6-14 record in BIG EAST matchups and 21-28 overall mark. The Friars return sophomore outfielder Emma Lee, a BIG EAST First Team selection. In her rookie season, Lee set the record for highest batting average in a single season for the Friars and led the BIG EAST Conference with a .423 batting average. She tallied 60 hits in 142 at bats and accumulated 17 RBI.
With the addition of eight freshmen,
Georgetown brings a mix of fresh faces and seasoned veterans that look to improve on last year’s 9-35 season, 3-14 in BIG EAST action. Leading the Hoya returners are senior Gabriella Elvina, junior Theresa Kane and sophomore Mallory Belknap. They each registered a batting average of .300 or higher, with Belknap leading the team at .352, followed by Kane at .308 and Elvina at .300.
BIG EAST play begins on March 25, with the top-four teams at season’s end qualifying for the BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep. The league’s 2017 postseason tournament is slated to return to Ballpark at Rosemont for a third straight year. Semifinals will be played on May 12, followed by the title game on May 13, with the winner earning the BIG EAST’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
2017 BIG EAST Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
- St. John’s (6) - 48
- DePaul (2) - 44
- Butler - 32
- Villanova - 31
- Creighton - 27
- Seton Hall - 21
- Providence - 11
- Georgetown - 10