SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the first time in program history, South Dakota State, the defending Summit League regular season and tournament champions, has been tabbed as the preseason favorite for the 2022 season after a vote of the league's eight head coaches in the annual preseason poll.
 
The Jackrabbits, who received seven first-place votes and 49 total points, will be vying for their second-straight regular season crown after claiming the 2021 title with a league mark of 21-1 and finishing with a program-best 43-8 overall record.

North Dakota State, who will be searching for their ninth overall regular season crown, and Kansas City were tied at the runner-up spot with a total of 38 points with NDSU claiming one of the remaining first-place votes. Omaha (35) was three points behind the Bison and Roos and slated to finish fourth. South Dakota was picked to finish fifth with 22 points while North Dakota tallied 20 points and was picked sixth. Western Illinois (13) was slated to finish sixth and league newcomer St. Thomas (9) rounded out the poll.

Summit League teams begin action on Friday, Feb. 11. The 2022 Summit League Softball Championship will take place May 11-14 at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium in Brookings, S.D.
 
2022 Summit League Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Rank	School	Points (1st)	2021 Record (SL)
1.	South Dakota State	49 (7)	43-8 (21-1)
T2.	North Dakota State	38 (1)	16-29 (11-12)
T2.	Kansas City	38	29-26 (11-13)
4.	Omaha	35	20-28 (12-11)
5.	South Dakota	22	13-38 (8-12)
6.	North Dakota	20	17-33 (8-14)
7.	Western Illinois	13	16-29 (6-14)
8.	St. Thomas	9	MIAC: 33-10 (17-5)

 
Preseason Notes
 • South Dakota State return a loaded roster from last season, including nine All-Summit League honorees, eight of which received first-team recognition.
• The league will see all three individual award recipients from South Dakota State last season return to action. The Jackrabbits return Player of the Year Cylie Halvorson, Pitcher of the Year Tori Kniesche and Freshman of the Year Grace Glanzer, along with Championship MVP Jocelyn Carrillo.
• Halvorson set Jackrabbit single-season records with 19 home runs and 127 total bases and led the team with 59 RBI. She did not commit an error in nearly 300 defensive chances at first base.
• Glanzer compiled a 19-5 pitching record with one save, recording a 1.78 ERA and pitched a team-high 169 innings. Kniesche led the league last season with a 1.57 ERA and a 21-2 record with 186 strikeouts.
• Kansas City senior outfielder Kloe Hilbrenner posted a program record 45 stolen bases last season, which topped the league by 26 bases and ranked third in all of Division I. Her 45 stolen bases tied a single-season league record, and her 68 hits topped the league last season. She also posted team highs in batting average (.354), on-base percentage (.398) and runs (41).
• The Roos have four All-League honorees in addition to Hilbrenner returning for the 2022 season. The Roos bring back junior Ally Vonfeldt, who posted a .580 slugging percentage, scored 34 runs, tallied 49 hits, and drove in a team-high 44 runs along with the second-most home runs in the league with 13. Senior pitcher Mia Hoveland will lead the charge in the circle where she struck out a league-high 193 batters. Alexis D'Ambrosio will return at catcher for the Ross having started 46 games behind the plate and recorded 240 putouts, which was second on the team.
• North Dakota State's Avery Wysong is the top returning hitter for the Bison as the senior catcher registered a team-high eight home runs and 27 RBI with a .278 batting average in 40 games played with 39 starts.
• The NDSU duo of pitchers Lainey Lyle and Paige Vargas return for the Bison, as Lyle led the team with a 3.18 ERA and Vargas led the team with 82 punchouts last season.
• Two of the top ten pitchers in terms of ERA last season will return for Omaha, as Kamryn Meyer and Sydney Nuismer will look for another strong season as Meyer struck out the third-most batters (166) last season and Nusimer threw the 10^th-most innings last season (92.1).
• Omaha's Izzy Eltze, a 2021 All-Summit League Second Team honoree, led the Mavericks hitting .386 and totaling 34 hits and hit .451 during league play.
• South Dakota senior outfielder Courtney Wilson, a 2021 All-Summit League Second Team honoree in the outfield, led the Coyotes and ranked sixth in the league with a .345 batting average and a team-best .373 during league play.
• North Dakota brings back all-tournament honoree Jannay Jones in the circle as the senior led the Fighting Hawks in appearances (22), starts (16), complete games (9), WHIP (1.29), innings pitched, (106.1), ERA (2.57) and opponents' batting average (.257). Her 2.57 ERA was the third-best in the league last season.
• Western Illinois senior pitcher Savannah Rodriguez, a 2021 All-Summit League second team honoree, will transition to the circle full time as she led the Leathernecks in several categories at the plate, including batting average (.336), hits (44), RBI (33) and at-bats (131).
• St. Thomas joins The Summit League after its departure from Division III's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and is led by first-year head coach Jennifer Bagley Trotter. The Tommies return 14 student-athletes from the 2021 campaign. The UST softball program have claimed two NCAA Division III National titles (2004, 2005), one runner-up crown (2006), have made seven NCAA College World Series appearances from 2002-21 and have captured 25 MIAC regular season conference championships in the Division III era.
 
2022 Summit League Preseason Players to Watch
Note: Players to Watch nominated by league's head coaches
 
Kansas City
Kloe Hilbrenner // Outfielder // Senior // Bates City, Mo.
• Named to the All-Summit League first team after she posted a program-record and league-best 45 stolen bases last season, finishing third in Division I  total stolen bases
• Recorded a team-high .354 batting average (fourth in the league), on-base percentage (ninth in the League), 41 runs (second in the League) and 68 hits leading the league
• Her 45 stolen bases was tied for the most in a single season in league history and she posted 20 multi-hit games
 
Mia Hoveland // Pitcher // Senior // McFarland, Wis.
• All-Summit League Second Team honoree and made the All-Tournament Team last season
• Posted the third-most wins (15), pitched the most innings (191.0) recorded the most strikeouts (193), fifth-best ERA (3.17), seventh-best opponent batting average (.264)
• Earned a complete-game win against No. 6 Oklahoma State on March 19, the first victory over a ranked opponent in program history
 
North Dakota
Jannay Jones // Senior // Pitcher // Yuma, Ariz.
• Led the Fighting Hawks in appearances (22), starts (16), complete games (9) and WHIP (1.29)
• Also led the team in innings pitched (106.1), ERA (2.57) and opponents' batting average (.257).
• Here 2.57 ERA was third-best in the league and was named to last season's All-Tournament team
 
Alexys Campos // Junior // Outfield // Buena Park, Calif.
• Led the team in batting average (.295), at-bats (156) runs (19) and on-base percentage (.325), staring in all 50 games for the Fighting Hawks
• Posted a .325 on-base percentage and a .333 slugging percentage
• Recorded a team-high 46 hits and registered and a .970 fielding percentage
 
North Dakota State
Lainey Lyle // Junior // Pitcher // Middleton, Idaho
• 2021 All-Summit League Second Team honoree, making 14 appearances in the circle with 12 starts
• Tosses a no-hitter against South Dakota (Apr. 10) striking out seven and allowing just two walks
• Posted a 6-6 record in 79.1 innings pitched, where she tallied nine complete games and had 69 strikeouts
 
Avery Wysong // Catcher // Senior // Beaver Creek, Minn.
• Named to last season's All-Summit League Second Team appearing in 40 games with 39 starts
• Ranked third on the team with 32 hits with a .278 batting average and tied for the team lead with eight doubles
• Led the Bison with eight home runs and 27 RBI and ranked second on the team with 18 runs

Omaha
Kamryn Meyer // Pitcher // Junior // Wilton, Iowa
• Was named to last season's All-Summit League second team where she made 28 appearances and 18 starts in the circle for the Mavericks, pitching 10 complete games and posting a 10-8 record with a 3.18 ERA, which was tied for the seventh-best in the league
• A two-time #SummitSB Pitcher of the Week, threw 127.2 innings of work with a .203 opponent batting average and recorded five shutouts last season
• Threw five shutouts last season and retired a career-high 13 batters against North Dakota (Mar. 27) and her shutout against the Fighting Hawks on May 13 was her first career no-hitter tallying eight strikeouts
 
Jamie White // Infield // Senior // Choctaw, Okla.
• Named to the All-Summit League first team last season having appeared and started in all 48 games last season
• Hit .269 with 25 hits, four doubles, five home runs, 24 RBI and 17 runs scored
• Posted five multi-hit games and a nine-game hitting streak

St. Thomas
Sarah Hudson // Third Base // Senior // Corcoran, Minn.
• Played and started in all 43 games last season, batting .315 with a .386 on-base percentage
• Slugged .417 and tallied 40 hits while scoring 17 runs
• Drove in 28 runs, notched seven doubles with two home runs and recorded a .944 fielding percentage
 
Brooke Ellestad // Shortstop // Freshman // Kimberly, Wis.
• Among the state leaders at Kimberly High School with 12 home runs her senior season
• Won a state title at Oshkosh North in 2019, guiding the Spartans to a 31-0 record
• Hit .555 with seven home runs and 41 RBI as a sophomore and .487 with 36 RBI last season

South Dakota
Courtney Wilson // Outfield // Senior // Grand Island, Neb.
• All-Summit League second team honoree in the outfield, starting 38 games
• Led team and ranked sixth in the league with a .345 batting average, driving in 14 runs and scored 16 times
• Hit a team-best .373 during league play and had 10 multi-hit games including four three-hit efforts

Lauren Eamiguel // Infield // Graduate Student // Mesa, Ariz.
• One of two Coyotes who played in all 51 games, making 44 starts at shortstop and six others at third base
• Led the team with 10 doubles and 26 runs, along with being ranked second with 20 RBI
• Registered a .329 on-base percentage, had 10 multi-hit efforts including two three-hit games
 
South Dakota State
Tori Kniesche // Pitcher // Sophomore // Wayne, Neb.
• Named the 2021 Summit League Pitcher of the Year and was a First Team All-League and NFCA First Team All-Region honoree
• Posted a league-leading 1.57 ERA (38^th nationally), notched a league-best 21-2 record (26^th nationally  in wins) and second in the league in strikeouts (189)
• Allowed just 3.5 hits per seven innings, the eighth-best mark in the country, and held opposing batters to a .145 average, the lowest in a season in program history
 
Cylie Halvorson // Infield // Sophomore // Sioux Falls, S.D.
• All-Summit League First Team, Player of the Year and NFCA Second Team All-Region last season
• Fifth-best in the league in batting average (.352), broke a school record with 19 home runs which led the league and ranked 15^th nationally
• League-leading 59 RBI and seventh in the country while also leading the league with 127 total bases and totaled 58 hits (third in the league)
 
Western Illinois
Abby Carlin // Pitcher // Graduate Student // Huxley, Iowa
• Made the most appearances for the Leathernecks in the circle with 31, starting 22 games and ranked fourth in the league in innings pitched (142.2) and fourth in batters struck out (139)
• Tossed 15 complete games and struck out a season-high 12 batters in the season opener against Valparaiso on Feb. 13
• Tallied double-digits in strikeouts on three separate occasions
 
Savannah Rodriguez // Designated Player // Senior // Woodridge, Ill.
• All-Summit League Second Team honoree starting in 44 of 45 games played
• WIU team leader in batting average (.336), hits (44), RBI (33) and at-bats (131)
• Top-10 in the League in slugging percentage (.595) and on-base percentage (.396)

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