MEC Coaches Put WLU Softball at No. 1 – Again!
BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Coach Herb Minch’s nationally-ranked West Liberty University softball team was a unanimous pick to claim their third straight Mountain East Conference North Division title when the MEC coaches released their annual preseason poll late Wednesday afternoon.
Ranked No. 24 in the nation and fresh off back-to-back MEC championships and NCAA Division II Tournament runs, Coach Herb Minch welcomes back almost everybody from last season’s 37-17 squad. As a result, all 11 of his fellow conference coaches voted West Liberty No. 1 in the North Division for the third straight year. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own teams.
Fairmont State edged out Frostburg State for No. 2 in the North with Notre Dame (Ohio), Wheeling and Alderson Broaddus rounding out the division.
In the South, West Virginia State was the No. 1 pick with 9 of the 12 coaches’ votes. Charleston was No. 2 with the remaining three first-place votes, followed by Concord, West Virginia Wesleyan, Glenville State and Davis & Elkins.
Coach Minch and his Hilltoppers are scheduled to open the 2022 season at home on Feb. 20 with a 1 p.m. non-conference doubleheader against Clarion (Pa.).
SOFTBALL
2022 MEC Preseason Poll
North Division
1. WEST LIBERTY (11) 66
2. Fairmont State (1) 51
3. Frostburg State 48
4. Notre Dame 39
5. Wheeling 25
6. Alderson Broaddus 17
South Division
1. W.Va. State (9) 64
2. Charleston (3) 51
3. Concord 43
4. W.Va. Wesleyan 41
5 Glenville State 24
6. Davis & Elkins 23