TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Two-time defending Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) champion Waynesburg University was voted as the preseason favorite when the 2024 Softball Coaches' Preseason Poll and conference Players to Watch list was released Friday morning.
The annual preseason poll collects votes from each of the conference's 11 head coaches.
Waynesburg secured the top spot this year after receiving six first-place votes and 95 points. For the second consecutive year, the Yellow Jackets were the second seed in the PAC Tournament and once again, went 3-0 to take the crown, capped off by a 6-3 win over Westminster College in the title game. It was Waynesburg's third PAC championship in program history and made them the first PAC program to go back-to-back since Thomas More repeated in 2017 and 2018.
With the conference championship, fifth-year head coach Brett Shimek, who was named the PAC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, and Waynesburg received the automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. The Yellow Jackets lost their opening game to eventual national champion Trine University and then fell by a 3-1 score in an elimination game to Millikin University
Westminster finished second in this year's poll, collecting two first-place votes and 89 points. The Titans earned the top seed in the PAC Tournament for the second consecutive season, posting a 16-4 conference record, and completed the campaign with a 29-13 mark.
Two other programs garnered first-place votes, including Allegheny College, who received a pair of votes for the top spot and scored 83 points to place third. In addition, Geneva College had one first-place vote and finished with 73 points to take fourth.
Coming in fifth place was Saint Vincent College with 63 points, placing sixth was Grove City College (55) and seventh place went to Washington & Jefferson College (37). In eighth place was Chatham University with 36 points, followed by Bethany College in ninth (33), Thiel College (30) and Franciscan University (11).
The Players to Watch List is highlighted by a pair of major award winners from the 2023 season, both coming from Waynesburg. Yellow Jacket junior left-hander Sydney Wilson (Pentress, W.Va./Clay-Battelle) won PAC Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year following her freshman season and then picked up PAC Pitcher of the Year again last season. In addition, she was First Team All-PAC, the Most Outstanding Player in the PAC Tournament and was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region VII Second Team.
In the circle in 2023, Wilson had a 17-6 overall record and boasted a 1.50 ERA. She tallied seven complete-game shutouts, racked up 108 strikeouts and allowed opponents to hit just .209 on the season. Wilson received three PAC Pitcher of the Week awards.?
Wilson's teammate, sophomore Grace Higgins (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan), also returns after she was the 2023 PAC Newcomer of the Year. She was also a First Team All-PAC and Third Team NFCA All-Region VII selection. Higgins, who played second base for Waynesburg, was outstanding in her debut season, during which she hit .382 with 10 doubles, three triples, a squad-best four home runs, 16 RBIs and 32 runs scored. Her .636 slugging percentage ranked fourth on the team and her 17 successful steals in 17 attempts were a Jacket best.
This year's PAC Tournament will look different than past years, as the three-team play-in series has been eliminated. Now, the top six teams will all advance to the double-elimination weekend Tournament, which will begin Thursday, May 2nd and run through Saturday, May 4th, with the PAC's top seed to host the tournament.
The winner of this year's championship tournament title will secure the league's automatic qualifying bid to the Division III Softball Championship, with teams and regional site selections announced on Monday, May 13.
Regional round play is scheduled for Friday-Sunday, May 16-18 and the Super Regionals will be played Friday-Saturday, May 24-25. The eight teams advancing from the Super Regionals will participate in the Division III Championship finals, slated for May 30th through June 5th at Jason Bell Park at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas.
| 2024 PAC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| School (first-place votes) |
Points |
2023 Records |
| 1. Waynesburg (6) |
95 |
29-10, 15-5 PAC |
| 2. Westminster (2) |
89 |
29-13, 16-4 PAC |
| 3. Allegheny (2) |
83 |
24-12, 14-6 PAC |
| 4. Geneva (1) |
73 |
21-15, 14-6 PAC |
| 5. Saint Vincent |
63 |
23-15, 12-8 PAC |
| 6. Grove City |
55 |
21-15, 12-7 PAC |
| 7. W&J |
37 |
12-20, 4-14 PAC |
| 8. Chatham |
36 |
11-25, 6-14 PAC |
| 9. Bethany |
33 |
8-21-1, 8-10 PAC |
| 10. Thiel |
30 |
9-23, 4-14 PAC |
| 11. Franciscan |
11 |
0-34, 0-18 PAC |
2024 PAC Softball Players to Watch
| Allegheny |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Aleya Belardinelli |
Jr. |
P/IF |
Melbourne, Fla./West Shore |
| Olivia Devries |
Jr. |
IF |
Kent, Ohio/Field |
| Sofia Genareo |
Jr. |
1B |
Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central |
| Sophia Godzak |
Jr. |
IF |
Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon |
| Cameron Long |
Jr. |
C |
Midlothian, Va./Midlothian |
| Bethany |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Destiny Goodnight |
Sr. |
OF |
Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline |
| Morgan Huey |
Grad. |
C/IF |
Hermitage, Pa./Hickory |
| Brooke Marklund |
So. |
SS |
Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward |
| Chatham |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Savanna Ahlborn |
Sr. |
OF |
Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center |
| Kyley Fijalkowski |
Grad. |
IF |
Lockport, N.Y./Lockport |
| Isabelle Griswold |
Jr. |
1B/OF |
Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport Area |
| Irene Martin |
So. |
SS/3B |
Banning, Calif./Beaumont |
| Victoria Murren |
So. |
P/IF |
New Oxford, Pa./Bermudian Springs |
| Franciscan |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Carissa Cedillo |
Sr. |
P |
Houston, Texas/William B. Travis |
| Elizabeth Maxwell |
So. |
SS |
Roswell, Ga./Seton Home Study |
| Geneva |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Julia Hart |
Sr. |
1B |
Prospect, Pa./Slippery Rock |
| Elishea Reed |
Sr. |
C/OF |
Lanse, Pa./West Branch |
| Haley Smith |
Grad. |
P |
Joshua Tree, Calif./Yucca Valley |
| Grove City |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Maci Linhart |
Jr. |
2B |
Columbiana, Ohio/Columbiana |
| Rachel Zona |
Jr. |
3B |
New Castle, Pa./New Castle |
| Saint Vincent |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Olivia Bushore |
Jr. |
P |
Claysburg, Pa./Claysburg-Kimmel |
| Jessica LaPorte |
Sr. |
3B |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks |
| Kiley Meek |
So. |
P |
Holbrook, Pa./West Greene |
| Olivia Persin |
Sr. |
SS |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| Thiel |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Mila Brdar |
So. |
Util. |
White Oak, Pa./McKeesport |
| Kylie Heid |
So. |
IF |
Monaca, Pa./Central Valley |
| Mackenzie Herman |
So. |
RHP/IF |
Greenville, Pa./Reynolds |
| Riley Ladd |
Sr. |
C |
Mineral Ridge, Ohio/Mineral Ridge |
| Jensen Stehlik |
Fr. |
OF |
Sagamore Hills, Ohio/Nordonia |
| W&J |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Julia DiPietro Harvey |
So. |
OF |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice |
| Izzy DiPietro Harvey |
Jr. |
IF |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice |
| Savannah Keough |
Sr. |
Util. |
Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams |
| Aliya Schraeder |
Jr. |
OF |
McDonald, Pa./South Fayette |
| Waynesburg |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Ella Brookman |
Sr. |
1B |
Washington, Pa./Chartiers-Houston |
| Kayla Gratton |
Sr. |
SS |
Monroeville, Pa./Gateway |
| Grace Higgins |
Jr. |
2B |
Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan |
| Autumn Stemple |
So. |
P |
Morgantown, W.Va./University |
| Sydney Wilson |
Jr. |
P |
Pentress, W.Va./Clay-Battelle |
| Westminster |
| Name |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown/High School |
| Madison Brown |
Grad. |
P |
Lisbon, Ohio/East Liverpool |
| MacKenzie Latess |
Grad. |
1B |
New Castle, Pa./Laurel |
| Elizabeth Malzcak |
Sr. |
P |
Grove City, Pa./Grove City |