Jan. 18, 2018 New York, N.Y. - The BIG EAST Conference announced the 2018 Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll in a press release on Thursday afternoon. St. John's was picked to win the league for the third consecutive year. Villanova was selected to place fourth this season for the second year in a row.
Coaches from each BIG EAST program ranked teams one through eight and were not allowed to vote for their own teams. St. John's earned four first place votes for a total of 46 points, and DePaul garnered four first place votes to receive 45 points. Butler was chosen to finish third in the conference with 34 points, and Villanova finished right behind the Bulldogs at 29 points. Creighton, Seton Hall, Providence and Georgetown rounded out the rest of the list.
Villanova is coming off a season in which the team went 35-20 overall and 13-8 in the BIG EAST. The Wildcats finished third in the conference regular season and qualified for the BIG EAST Championships.
The team returns plenty of experienced players this season, including Brittany Husk and Nikki Alden, in which Husk earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors and Alden earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors. Juniors Kendall Ohman and Lauren Hanna look to aid Alden and Husk to lead the Wildcats to a successful 2018 campaign.
Head coach Maria DiBernardi enters her 34th and final season at the helm. DiBernardi has an 852-734-10 career record entering the season.
Villanova begins the season on Friday, Feb. 23 with a pair of games beginning at 11 a.m. against Marist and a 1:30 p.m. game against McNeese State both Madeira Beach, Fla.
Please find below the recorded totals of the votes
2018 BIG EAST Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
- St. John's (4) - 46
- DePaul (4) - 45
- Butler - 34
- Villanova - 29
- Creighton - 23
- Seton Hall - 22
- Providence - 18
- Georgetown - 7
