James Madison collected six first-place votes and 48 total points to take the top spot in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Softball Preseason Poll as voted on by the league’s eight head coaches. 

Last spring’s runner-up, Delaware, received one first-place vote and 42 points, while Elon collected the final first-place vote and 35 points to finish second and third, respectively. Fourth through sixth were separated by just six points, as Hofstra tallied 28, Drexel totaled 24, and UNCW accumulated 22. Charleston and Towson rounded out the field with 14 and 11 points, respectively. 

James Madison is coming off a historic season, in which the Dukes advanced to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series, finishing the year with a 41-4 overall record. JMU will need to reload after losing seven starters from last spring’s final four team, including six all-conference honorees and two major award winners. However, reigning CAA and National Coach of the Year Loren LaPorte will be up to the task. Among the key returners for the Dukes is reigning CAA Rookie of the Year Alissa Humphrey. Last season Humphrey went 14-0 in 94.1 innings pitched with 141 strikeouts, posting a league-best 1.56 ERA. She will assume the role of ace for a JMU pitching staff that paced the conference in ERA (1.79) and strikeouts (374) last spring. 

Last season Delaware advanced to the CAA Championship for the first time since 2004. The Blue Hens return several key starters to their lineup and their top pitcher from a year ago. First-team All-CAA outfielder Hanna Garber paced Delaware in hits (35) and batting average (.384), while second-team All-CAA second baseman Brittney Mendoza led the Blue Hens in runs scored (35) and RBIs (35). In the circle, Emily Winburn returns after posting a 13-4 record last spring en route to second-team All-CAA accolades. Winburn ranked third in the conference in strikeouts (84) and fifth in ERA (2.79) in 104.1 innings of work.

Elon retains two of its top three hitters from last season in outfielders Rebecca Murray and Megan Grant. Murry hit a team-best .352, leading the team with 42 hits while totaling 27 runs and 20 RBIs. Murray was third on the team with a .323 batting average. She recorded 31 hits, 26 runs, 21 walks and 16 RBIs last spring. Murray and Grant were tabbed second-team All-CAA following their efforts last season. 

Hofstra will be under the leadership of first-year head coach Adrienne Clark, who took over the Hofstra program in July after her most recent stop as an assistant coach at Purdue. Clark is no stranger to the Pride as she spent three years as an assistant coach at Hofstra from 2012-14 after an illustrious career as a player with the Pride. Hofstra returns its workhorse, Madison Burns, in the circle, who was second in the CAA last season with 109.1 innings pitched. Her battery mate Devin Losco is back behind the dish. Losco earned second-team All-CAA honors after hitting .364 with 22 runs and 12 RBIs a season ago.   

Drexel welcomes Katie Jansson to take over the head coaching responsibilities of the Dragons after leading the Iona softball program for the past three seasons. Drexel will have to account for the departure of last spring’s CAA Player of the Year, Linda Rush. However, the Dragons retain a pair of first-team All-CAA honorees from 2021 in their ace Brooklyn Daly and first baseman Kristi DiMeo. Daly threw 87.0 innings en route to a 10-3 record and posted the fourth-best ERA (2.57) in the CAA last season. DiMeo was second in the conference in batting average (.429) and RBIs (53) last spring. She ranks second all-time in CAA history in career batting average (.407) and third in home runs (46) and RBIs (192). 

UNCW returns its top two hitters from last spring in two-way player Janel Gamache and first-team All-CAA catcher Jada Santiago. Gamache was a second-team All-CAA honoree at first base after ranking fourth in the CAA with a .391 batting average. She recorded 45 hits, 31 RBIs, and 26 runs scored at the plate while throwing 55.2 innings in the circle, picking up a pair of saves and 36 strikeouts. Santiago was fifth in the CAA, hitting .390, and led UNCW with 36 RBIs and 11 doubles.

Charleston enters the Tracey Lynch era as the first-year head coach takes over the reins after spending the previous six years as an assistant coach on the UNCG staff. The Cougars are a young team with only three seniors on its roster. One of those seniors, Jenna Helberg, paced Charleston last year with a .300 batting average, starting in 31 games. 

Towson welcomes back both its All-CAA honorees from last spring. Mackenzie Lake earned All-CAA Rookie accolades following a freshman season in which she led Towson in batting average (.381), hits (37) and runs scored (22). Chloe Poulich was a second-team All-CAA selection at third base. Poulich hit .362 with 34 hits, 21 runs scored and a team-best 20 RBIs. 

2022 CAA Softball Preseason Poll