Louisville, Ky. - The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) released its 2022 Division II Top-25 Preseason Coaches Poll Tuesday morning, a list that finds Georgian Court University softball in the #19 slot.
The Lions, which for the second time in program history (2009) came within one win of its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Softball Championship, advanced to the East Regional Tournament finale (vs. Saint Anselm), and owned a #22 ranking at the conclusion of its season.
Three-time Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year,
Nicole Degenhardt, returns a loaded roster consisting of five All-CACC selections (
Alyssa Herrera,
Taylor Barraza,
Jayda Jones,
Adriana Mungo, and
Mikayla Gilgert), three NFCA All-Region picks (Herrera, Jones, Mungo), a quintet of D2CCA All-Region honorees (Herrera, Mungo, Gilgert, Barraza, and Jones), and an NFCA First-Team All-American (Herrera).
Herrera, the program's first All-American since
Samantha Reilly in 2018, was also a Schutt Sports / NFCA Division II Player of the Year & Freshman of the Year finalist. The Georgian Court Female Rookie of the Year led the Lions in numerous offensive categories, including: batting average (.450), runs (47), hits (59), doubles (17) and total bases (94).
Having played a vital role in leading GCU to within one win of its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Softball Championship, the La Palma, Calif. native owned 18 multi-hit contests in 44 overall games, and collected at least one knock in all but eight outings.
Georgian Court topped the conference with 297 runs, 428 hits, 79 doubles, 23 triples, 35 home runs, 122 walks, 78 stolen bases, .a .361 team batting average, .424 on-base percentage, and .555 slugging percentage.
Posting an overall record of 38-6, and a program-best 25-1 regular-season mark vs. conference foes, the reigning CACC champions make their '22 debut on Saturday, Feb. 26 in Winter Haven, Fla. vs. the University of Bridgeport (East Coast Conference) and Fairmont State University (Mountain East Conference).
CLICK HERE for the complete preseason poll!
