Softball Selected Eighth in USA South Coaches Poll

Posted: Jan 31, 2023

BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College softball program was slotted in the eighth position in the annual USA South Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.

Pfeiffer University was placed atop the rankings thanks to receiving 81 total points and nine of the possible ten first-place votes. The Falcons finished last season with a 16-2 regular season Conference record which was good for a second consecutive East Division Championship. Pfeiffer would eventually fall in the USA South Tournament's finals of the first round four-team tournament to conclude their season with a 35-10 overall record. Greensboro College was second in the poll with 69 total points while William Peace University claimed third with 65 points. Meredith College, who placed sixth in the poll, received the final first-place vote.

Pfeiffer has previously been picked first (divisionally) by the coaches in each of the four USA South preseason polls they have been eligible to be ranked in since joining the Conference. Not counting the canceled 2020 season, the Falcons have claimed two divisional titles but have yet to win the USA South Tournament. Since the first Conference softball preseason poll in 2003, the team picked first has won the League title eight out of 18 years. Conversely, the second-place team in the poll has grabbed the League title twice while the team picked fifth has earned the championship five times.

NC Wesleyan University (fifth place, 50 points), Meredith (sixth place, 48 points), and Mary Baldwin University (seventh, 29 points) all were placed above Brevard, who finished eighth with 27 points. Salem College and Southern Virginia University wrapped up the poll.

2023 USA South Softball Coaches Preseason Poll
Rank	Institution (1st Place Votes)	Points
1.	Pfeiffer# (9)	81
2.	Greensboro	69
3.	William Peace	65
4.	Methodist	51
5.	N.C. Wesleyan	50
6.	Meredith (1)	48
7.	Mary Baldwin	29
8.	Brevard	27
9.	Salem	17
10.	Southern Virginia	13
#Defending Regular Season Division Champion (East)

Brevard, under the direction of Head Coach Bre Shearin, brings on alums Taylor Hannah '22 and Emily White '21, '22 (MS) to the staff this season alongside Volunteer Assistant Coach Christie Cauble. BC enters 2023 following an eight-win 2022 campaign highlighted by an extra-inning home victory over preseason favorite Pfeiffer and four conference wins. Senior infielder Mikayla Morgan returns following a stellar junior campaign that included hitting for a .390 average with 32 hits, 10 doubles, five triples and a home run while driving in 19 runs-batted-in.

The 2023 USA South Softball Tournament will once again be conducted exclusively on campus sites. The top-eight seeded teams will advance to postseason play which will begin with two, four-team, double-elimination tournaments on Thursday-Saturday, May 4-6. The winners of those two tournaments will face each other in a best-of-three championship series the following weekend, Friday-Saturday, May 12-13.

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-BC-