ATLANTA – Central Arkansas is favored to capture the 2024 Atlantic Sun Conference Softball title after being selected to the top spot in the preseason coaches poll, announced by the league office Wednesday. The Bears secured 10 first-place votes.
UCA is coming off a 45-12 campaign that saw Head Coach Jenny Parsons' squad go 22-2 in conference play and capture the program's first ASUN Championship. FGCU, who is looking to capture its first league title since 2012, was selected second in the coaches poll. The Eagles received two first-place nods in the preseason rankings. North Alabama came in third with a total of 110 points after finishing as the runner-up in the 2023 ASUN Championship. Austin Peay, Kennesaw State, and North Florida finished fourth through sixth, respectively, to round out the top half of the coaches poll.
The Bears' Tremere Harris was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year after being a First Team All-ASUN and NFCA All-Region Third Team selection in 2023. The senior outfielder hit .335 last season and recorded 14 extra-base hits while drawing 34 walks and adding 20 stolen bases. The Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honor was claimed by Central Arkansas' Kylie Griffin who started all 57 games last season at third base. The Greenbrier, Ark., native hit a team-high .347 in 173 bats as a sophomore and held a .973 fielding percentage with just three errors in 112 attempts. Queens' Autumn Courtney was selected as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year after ranking eighth in the ASUN for ERA in 2023 (2.29). As a freshman, she put up a 15-10 record with three of her five double-digit strikeout performances coming in conference play.
2024 Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Arkansas (10), 139
2. FGCU (2), 122
3. North Alabama, 110
4. Austin Peay, 104
5. Kennesaw State, 87
6. North Florida, 82
7. Stetson, 79
8. Jacksonville, 61
9. EKU, 55
10. Queens, 41
11. Lipscomb, 37
12. Bellarmine, 19
2024 Preseason All-ASUN Team
C - Neely Peterson, FGCU*
P - Jordan Benefiel, Austin Peay
P - Autumn Courtney, Queens
IF - Kylie Campbell, Austin Peay
IF - Kylie Griffin, Central Arkansas
IF - Madison Reynolds, Jacksonville
IF - Hailey Jones, North Alabama
OF - Tremere Harris, Central Arkansas*
OF - Stella Henry, Kennesaw State
OF - Shannon Glover, North Florida
UT/DP - Vianna Barron, EKU
* - Denotes unanimous selection