SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – North Dakota State, the six-time defending Summit League champion, has once again been tabbed as the preseason favorite for the 2021 season after a vote of the league's seven head coaches in the annual preseason poll.
 
The Bison, who received six first-place votes, will be vying for their ninth overall regular season crown after claiming the 2019 title with a league mark of 16-2.

South Dakota State, who recorded the most wins by a Summit League team during the COVID-19 shortened season with 15 last spring, was predicted to finish second and earned one first-place vote. South Dakota was six points behind the Jackrabbits and are slated to finish third. Omaha was picked to finish fourth with 19 points while league newcomer Kansas City tallied 16 points and was picked fifth. North Dakota was slated to finish sixth and Western Illinois rounded out the poll.

Summit League teams begin action on Thursday, Feb. 11. The 2021 Summit League Softball Championship will take place May 12-15 at the Ellig Sports Complex in Fargo, N.D.

2021 Preseason Poll

Place	Team (First-Place Votes)	Points	2020 Record
1.	North Dakota State (6)	36	7-16 (0-0)
2.	South Dakota State (1)	31	15-8 (0-0)
3.	South Dakota	25	11-18 (0-0)
4.	Omaha	19	12-12 (0-0)
5.	Kansas City	16	6-13 (0-0)
6.	North Dakota	12	7-17 (0-0)
7.	Western Illinois	8	6-13 (0-0)

Preseason Notes 
• North Dakota State will look to capture its 11^th league title in 12 seasons and the tournament championship will be held May 12-15 in Fargo at Tharaldson Park.
• North Dakota State's Cara Beatty led the Bison last season with a .469 on-base percentage, hitting .393 with two home runs and 12 RBI. She finished the season with a .571 slugging percentage and matched career-highs in six categories.
• NDSU pitcher Paige Vargas, a 2019 Freshman of the Year and Tournament MVP, made 17 appearances in the circle last season, including 11 starts and nine complete games. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native compiled four wins with a 3.94 ERA and struck out 38 batters in 74.2 innings pitched.
• Omaha holds on to Jamie White for her junior season after she led the league and ranked 26^th nationally in homers (8) while also leading the league in RBI (26).
• A season ago, South Dakota State posted the top team ERA of 2.90 with sophomore Grace Glanzer leading those efforts thanks to a league-best ERA of 1.73. Last season, Glanzer compiled a 12-2 record with 74 strikeouts in 89 innings of work.
• South Dakota returns all five of its pitchers who tossed innings last year, including seniors Alexis Devers and Sarah Lisko. Devers was an All-Summit performer in 2019 and is coming off an even better statistical season in 2020 with career-lows for ERA (3.10) and opponent batting average (.261).
• North Dakota brings back all-leaguer Jailene Carpio from the second team in 2019 as the senior was limited to five games last season due to an injury. Senior outfielder Ashlynn Uvila led the Fighting Hawks in 2020 with a .349 batting average and an on-base percentage of .391.
• Western Illinois junior Alyssa Ealy will look to have another solid season as the junior started all 19 games last season, recording a team-high .362 batting average on 21 hits and with a team-high 10 walks and nine stolen bases.
• Kansas City rejoins The Summit League after a seven-year run as a Western Athletic Conference member. Kansas City, who was a league member from 1994-2013, posted a 6-13 record last season and was scheduled to face North Dakota, South Dakota and South Dakota State before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kansas City's top returning hitter is sophomore Delainey Fenoglio, who hit .357 in 19 games and led the team with 19 hits.
• A few big games to look forward to early in the season are North Dakota taking on No. 5/5 LSU (Feb. 17), No. 14/14 Georgia (March 13-14) and No. 7/6 Florida (March 16); North Dakota State taking on No. 18/21 Arkansas (Feb. 25), RV/RV Texas Tech (Feb. 26/27) and No. RV Ole Miss (March 6); South Dakota taking on No. 7/6 Florida (March 8) and No. 6/7 Texas (March 26); South Dakota State taking on No. 24/20 Arkansas (Feb. 21); South Dakota State taking on No. 7/6 Texas (Feb. 20) and No. 11/10 Oklahoma State (Feb. 21).
 
2021 Summit League Preseason Players to Watch
Note: Players to Watch nominated by league's head coaches
 
North Dakota State
Paige Vargas // Junior // Pitcher // Mission Viejo, Calif.
• 2019 All-Summit League Second Team, All-Tournament Team, Tournament MVP and Freshman of the Year
• Made 17 appearances including 11 starts and nine complete games during the COVID-19 shortened season
• Compiled four wins with a 3.94 ERA while striking out 38 batters in 74.2 innings pitched
 
Montana DeCamp // Infield // Graduate Student // Indianola, Iowa
• 2019 and 2017 All-Summit League First Team recipient
• Started in all 23 games played in 2020, 22 at shortstop and one at first base
• Hit .286 with one home run and five RBI, leading the team with 14 runs scored
• Candidate for the 2020 Senior CLASS Award, becoming the fourth NDSU softball played to advance to the top-30 for the award
 
South Dakota State
Grace Glanzer // Pitcher // Sophomore // Sioux Falls, S.D.
• Compiled a 1.73 ERA and led the league with 74 strikeouts and a 12-2 record
• Put together 11 complete games and allowed only 22 earned runs over 89 innings pitched
• Held opponents to a .215 batting average and struck out five or more batters in 10 games
 
Cylie Halvorson // Infield // Sophomore // Sioux Falls, S.D.
• Started 21 of 22 games and led the team with a .406 batting average with a team and league-high seven doubles
• Second on the team with 19 RBI while slugging .641 to go with a .451 on-base percentage
• Tied for team-lead with eight multi-hit games
 
South Dakota
Camille Fowler // Outfield // Graduate Student // Omaha, Neb.
• Led league in at-bats (97) and was third in hits (28) in 2020
• One of four Coyotes who started all 29 games
• Hit .289 with four doubles, a triple and a team-high 18 runs scored

Lauren Eamiguel // Infield // Senior // Mesa, Ariz.
• One of three active players who is a two-time, first-team honoree (2018, 2019)
• Led the team and ranked fourth in the League with 21 RBI
• Batted .356 with six doubles and a triple and was tied for the team lead and ranked second in the League with 18 runs scored
 
Omaha
Sydney Hampton // Pitcher // Senior // Durant, Okla.
• Tossed 18^th no-hitter in program history at UC Riverside in 2020
• Ranked 20^th nationally with three shutouts and 21^st with 10 wins in 2020
• Finished first in Summit League in starts (14) and shutouts (3), second in wins (10), fifth in complete games (6), seventh in opponent batting average (.267) and ninth in ERA (4.00)
 
Jamie White // Infield // Junior // Choctaw, Okla.
• Led Summit League and ranked 26^th nationally in home runs (8) in 2020
• Led Summit League in RBI (26) and ranked second in runs (17) and doubles (6)
• Also ranked third in slugging percentage (.683) and fifth in hits (26)
 
Kansas City
Delainey Fenoglio // Infield/Designated Player // Junior // Tonganoxie, Kan.
• Appeared in all 16 games for the Roos with all her starts coming at the designated player position
• Recorded the second-highest batting average (3.57) and slugging percentage (.500) on the team and tied for second with seven RBI
• Led the team with a .481 on-base percentage, which was also the fourth-best on the school single-season chart
 
Mia Hoveland // Pitcher // Junior // McFarland, Wis.
• Made 12 appearances in the circle, starting in eight games
• Tossed 44.0 innings with 24 strikeouts
• Had at least three strikeouts in three of her appearances
 
North Dakota
Jannay Jones // Junior // Pitcher // Yuma, Ariz.
• Led the Fighting Hawks in appearances (13), starts (11) complete games (8) and WHIP (1.47)
• Also led the team in saves (2), innings pitched (66.0), strikeouts (32) and opponents' batting average (.292).
• Went the distance in four straight games, winning a pair against Brown and San Diego
 
Ashlynn Uvila // Senior // Outfield // Prescott, Ariz.
• Led the team in batting average (.349) and on-base percentage (.391) in 20 games with 15 starts
• Shared the team lead in RBI (9) and doubles (2)
• Ended the season with hits in eight of her final 10 games
 
Western Illinois
Abby Carlin // Pitcher/First Base // Senior // Huxley, Iowa
• Appeared in 11 games in the circle including nine starts
• Collected three wins with a 2.01 ERA over 62.2 innings
• Struck out 42 batters with only seven walks and pitched a career-high seven complete games, including a career-high 14 strikeout game in a 6-2 win over DePaul
 
Alyssa Ealy // Outfield // Senior // Moline, Ill.
• Started all 19 games in 2020, posting a team-best .362 batting average
• Swiped a team and career-high nine stolen bases
• Walked 10 times and scored 12 runs while posting a .456 on-base percentage

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