Salukis picked to finish second in MVC Preseason Poll
01/28/2022 | 12:13:00 | Softball
ST. LOUIS - The defending Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champion Southern Illinois Salukis were picked to finish second in the annual MVC Preseason Coaches' Poll, the league announced Friday.Â
Northern Iowa, who Southern defeated 2-0 in the MVC Tournament title game on May 15, 2021, edged out the Salukis as this season's preseason favorites. The Panthers garnered 93 total points and tallied five first place votes, while SIU finished with 92 points and three first place votes. Missouri State was slotted at third while Drake and Indiana State rounded out the top-five.Â
The Salukis return 14 letterwinners from a 2021 campaign that saw Southern tally its most wins in a single-season since 2010 (37), win a conference tournament title for the third time in program history and make Southern's 13th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. SIU also set program records for best start to a season (16-0) and longest win streak (25 games). Of SIU's 14 letterwinners from a year ago, nine started 15 or more games in 2021.
Graduate student Jenny Jansen and junior Sarah Harness were both selected to the 2022 MVC Preseason All-Conference team. Jansen finished top-15 in the MVC in nearly every statistical category in 2021 but was conspicuously left off the All-MVC team. She enters the 2022 season with several career records in sight, as she needs just 19 RBIs and 33 hits to be Southern's all-time leader in both categories. Harness, meanwhile, has tied or led the MVC in wins in each of her first two seasons and was especially brilliant in the circle during Southern's MVC Tournament title run, as she went 3-0 with a .33 ERA in 21 innings of work.
Southern also welcomes a talented crop of newcomers to the mix in Emma Austin, Addi Baker, Reagan McGahey, Alexis Rudd, Chloe Scroggins and Emma Anthony.Â
The 2022 slate opens on Feb. 11 as the Salukis travel to Troy, Ala. to take part in the Troy Classic. Southern will square off with the College of Charleston, Troy and Purdue Fort Wayne in its season-opening tournament.Â
SIU opens MVC play with a doubleheader at Missouri State on March 16.Â
2022 Preseason MVC Poll
1. UNI - 93 points
2. SIU - 92
3. Missouri St. - 77
4. Drake - 66
5. Indiana St. - 53
6. Illinois St. - 47
7. Bradley - 42
8. Evansville - 39
9. Loyola - 31
10. Valpo - 10
