SUWANEE, Ga. – In exclusive voting by the league's head coaches, Southwestern University Softball has been picked to finish third in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason poll.

After securing a 21-win season in 2023, going 13-8 in conference play, and winning a SCAC Tournament game for the first time since 2019, Southwestern earned 42 points in league voting. 

The conference is coming off a banner year that saw two teams make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010 and multiple programs winning 30-plus games for the first time since 2019.

Texas Lutheran earned seven first-place votes to finish atop the preseason poll with 63 points. St. Thomas received the final first-place vote and finished second in the preseason rankings with 54 total points. Trinity was the coaches' fourth selection with 41 points and Centenary rounds out the top five with 32 total points.

Rounding out the coaches' selections were Schreiner, with 29 points, Austin College with 17 points, and Dallas in eighth with 10 points.

The 2024 SCAC softball season begins on February 2nd, while the first conference series of the season are scheduled for Saturday, March 9th. The 2024 SCAC Softball Tournament will be held at the beginning of May on the campus of Texas Lutheran University as the double-elimination tournament will begin on Friday May 3rd .