NEW HAVEN, Conn. (February 18, 2021) -- Georgian Court University was tabbed first in the 2021 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Softball Preseason Coaches Poll, which was announced on Thursday by Commissioner Dan Mara. The Lions, who won the 2019 CACC regular season crown and reached the conference final, earned 165 points in the voting, including four first-place votes. The voting for the poll was conducted by the league's 14 head coaches in the sport.
Caldwell University and Wilmington University rounded out the top three in the poll in second and third place, respectively. Caldwell earned 163 points in the voting, while WilmU logged 160 points. Both the Cougars and Wildcats each earned four first-place nods as well. Caldwell and WilmU have combined to win the last seven CACC Championships contested from 2013-19. The Cougars have won the title four times in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018, while the Wildcats have notched league crowns in 2014, 2016 and 2019. The 2020 CACC Softball Championship was canceled last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dominican College (4th) and Post University (5th) were the other two schools to earn a first-place vote in the voting. Bloomfield College was tied for 7th in the voting, putting the Bears in line for playoff contention this season in the eyes of the coaches.
The 2021 CACC Softball Season is slated to get underway on Saturday, Feb. 27, as Thomas Jefferson University will take part in a day full of competition versus Millersville. The Rams will play twice against Millersville during the afternoon. The conference schedule begins on Saturday, March 20, with several teams in action taking part in doubleheaders. The league schedule will once again feature 13 doubleheaders (26 games) for each of the 14 competing schools.
The 2021 regular season will be a build up to the CACC Softball Championship, which will be held the week of May 3-9. Dates and times for the week of competition are still to be determined and will be announced at a later date. This spring's tournament will feature structural changes for this year only. As in previous years, eight teams will qualify for the postseason, but 2021 will feature a single-elimination tournament. Each game in all three rounds (1st, semis & final) will be contested at the site of the highest seeds. The 2021 CACC Softball Champion will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament. More information on the 2021 CACC and NCAA Softball postseason will be announced in the near future as more details are finalized. As always, schedules and structures are subject to change based on the constantly evolving pandemic.
