Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Saluki softball picked to finish third in MVC Preseason Poll
01/29/2020 | 9:47:00 | Softball
ST. LOUIS — Coming off the program's 12th NCAA Tournament appearance, the Southern Illinois University softball team was picked to finish third in the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, the league announced Wednesday.
SIU picked up 82 points and finished seven points behind the reigning MVC Champs from Drake. The Bulldogs are the preseason favorites after going 43-16 in 2019, followed by UNI, who received 87 votes. Four teams- Drake (4), UNI (4), SIU (1), and Illinois State (1), received first place votes.
Southern has been picked in the top-4 in 19 of Blaylock's 21 seasons as SIU's skipper.
"I love that we were picked third," head coach Kerri Blaylock siad. "It ignites a fire within us as competitors that we want to go out and prove them wrong. Being the underdog has been what our program has been built on- whether we are facing a power five conference school or not- so I think the competitive juices are flowing and I don't see that as a bad thing."
The Salukis return 13 letterwinners, including eight starters, from a team that went 34-15 last season. SIU went 16-7 in conference games, which marked the 24th-straight season in which Southern has finished with a .500 or above record in league play.
Three Salukis were selected to the 2020 Preseason All-MVC team. Maddy Vermejan makes her third appearance on the Preseason All-MVC team, while Katelyn Massa was named to the team for the second-straight season. Jenny Jansen, meanwhile, garnered her first preseason All-MVC selection after she became the first Saluki to hit above .400 in a season since 1996.
SIU's three Preseason All-MVC selections were tied with UNI for the most of any MVC school.
SIU opens the 2020 campaign at the Carolina Classic in Columbia, S.C., Feb. 7-9. The Salukis will play three teams during the three-day event - Ohio State, South Carolina, and North Dakota State, that made the NCAA Tournament last season and a fourth, UNC Greensboro, that advanced to its conference tournament championship game.
2020 Preaseason All-MVC Poll
- Drake (4) - 89 votes
- UNI (4) - 87
- SIU (1) - 82
- Missouri State - 69
- Illinois State (1) - 60
- Bradley - 55
- Indiana State - 31
- Evansville - 27
- Loyola - 26
- Valparaiso - 24
