FOREST, Va. --- The past four seasons for ODAC softball mark arguably the most successful period for any conference sport with 12 national qualifying teams, four trips to the Division III final eight tournament, and three national titles. Virginia Wesleyan University has hoisted those three walnut & bronze prizes. While it is no surprise to see the Marlins top the 2022 ODAC Softball Preseason Poll with 81 points powered by nine first place votes, this season's VWU squad will have a very different make-up.

The Marlins will be without the winningest pitcher in NCAA Division III history, Hanna Hull, for the first time since the 2016 season. Four-time reigning ODAC Coach of the Year Brandon Elliott must not only replace Hull, ODAC Player of the Year Jessica Goldyn and a host of other All-ODAC standouts, but he must do so with the aim of contending within one of the best softball conferences in the country.

While that list no longer includes multiple national qualifier Emory & Henry College (reclassified to NCAA Division II), the ODAC remains stacked with top teams and talent populating their rosters. The University of Lynchburg and Randolph-Macon College are among those dozen teams that have earned NCAA bracket positions multiple times in the last four seasons. The Hornets sit second in the ODAC poll with 68 points, while the Yellow Jackets -- three years removed from a NCAA championship final eight appearance -- rank fourth with 61 markers. Roanoke College occupies the space between those two squads in third position with 64 tallies and the remaining first place vote.

In the following sections, we take a quick look back at last season and get a feel for what to expect for the upcoming softball campaign.

2021 ODAC TOURNAMENT | BRACKET

• The ODAC played a new format due to the COVID pandemic with three rounds of best-of-3 series hosted on member campuses
• Top-ranked Virginia Wesleyan and third-seeded Lynchburg squared off for the league crown
• Lynchburg defeated #6 Gulford, 2-0, in a quarterfinal series before splitting two games at #2 Emory & Henry to force a deciding third game; Lynchburg blanked the Wasps, 4-0, to earn a championship berth
• Virginia Wesleyan swept through their first two series, defeating #8 Shenandoah in the quarterfinals and taking care of #4 Roanoke in the semifinals
• In the championship series, Hanna Hull fanned eight Hornets on the way to a two-hit 4-0 shutout in game one; in game two, VWU's offense scored five times in the first two innings to give Emily Seale plenty of cushion on the way to a 9-1 victory
• The sweep game VWU its fifth straight and record 13th ODAC title

2021 NCAA DIVISION III TOURNAMENT

• A reduced field size of 48 teams still yielded two ODAC competitors with Emory & Henry joining automatic qualifier Virginia Wesleyan as an at-large selection
• The Wasps, competing in their final games as a member of the ODAC, made noise in the regional round by winning their first two games over Bridgewater State (4-0) and Emmanuel (Mass.)(5-1) before falling to host Texas Lutheran (5-0); they regrouped for a 12-0 victory over Cedar Crest to stay in the double-elimination bracket, but fell to TLU, 10-2, to end their season
• Virginia Wesleyan hosted its regional and used the friendly confines of TowneBank Park to advance to the Division III final eight with four straight wins -- 8-0 over Penn College, 7-1 over Farmingdale State, 4-3 over TCNJ, 6-5 over TCNJ
• The Moyer Complex, the traditional home of the ODAC Tournament, served as the host venue of the final eight teams in the Division III tournament; VWU posted three convincing wins -- 3-0 over St. Thomas (Minn.), 12-1 over Birmingham-Southern, 3-0 over DePauw -- to setup a best-of-3 championship series against Texas Lutheran
• The Marlins won the first game, 4-2, but TLU snapped VWU's 14-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory in game two; that setup a winner-take-all third game, in which VWU left no doubt in posting a 9-1 victory in five innings for their third national title since 2017

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING NATIONALLY ENTERING 2022

• NFCA Division III Preseason Top-25 Coaches Poll -- Reigning national champion Virginia Wesleyan is the lone ODAC school to feature in the first poll published by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) for Division III. The Marlins are slotted second in the survey, 10 points before DePauw University. The Tigers were a unanimous #1 choice by the 10-coach panel.

RETURNING STATISTICAL LEADERS
The athletes listed below represent the top-three returning statistical leaders for each listed category from the 2021 spring season.
Batting Minimums: 2.5 plate appearances per game and played 75% of team games
Pitching Minimums: 1.0 innings pitcher per team game

• BATTING LEADERS
  • Batting Avg. | .473 - Ariana Rolle (VWU); .438 - Ally Morales (GC); .386 - Rachel Sirbaugh (RC)
  • On-Base Pct. | .493 - Ally Morales (GC); .482 - Ariana Rolle (VWU); .475 - Rachel Sirbaugh (RC)
  • Slugging | .754 - Casey Bunting (GC); .667 - Sarah Wimer (BC); .627 - Rachel Sirbaugh (RC)
  • Runs | 47 - Julia Sinnett (VWU); 31 - Arielle Eure (FC); 30 - Ariana Rolle (VWU)
  • Hits | 56 - Julia Sinnett (VWU); 52 - Ariana Rolle (VWU); 49 - Lexi Powell (LYN)
  • Doubles | 19 - Julia Sinnett (VWU); 12 - Olivia Herman (LYN); 10 - Shannan Hester (RC)/Lexi Powell (LYN)/Torie Shifflett (BC)
  • Triples | 5 - Julia Sinnett (VWU); 3 - Arielle Eure (FC); 2 - Grace Calus (GC)/Taylor Friess (RAND)/Olivia Herman (LYN)/Emma Patterson (GC)/Lexi Powell (LYN)/Rachel Sirbaugh (RC)
  • Homers | 7 - Sierra Lantz (EMU); 6 - Casey Bunting (GC)/Arielle Eure (FC)
  • RBI | 47 - Julia Sinnett (VWU); 35 - Bri Hodges (LYN); 27 - Arielle Eure (FC)
  • Walks | 17 - Arielle Eure (FC)/Julia Sinnett (VWU); 16 - Breanna Weaver (FC)
  • Stolen Bases | 25 - Ariana Rolle (VWU); 23 - Avery Pinder (BC); 14 - Arielle Eure (FC)/Julia Sinnett (VWU)
• PITCHING LEADERS
  • ERA | 1.25 - Emily Seale (VWU); 1.44 - Jada Karnes (RC); 1.73 - Brantley Swift (BC)
  • Innings Pitched | 140.1 - Emily Seale (VWU); 111.2 - Jada Karnes (RC); 88.0 - Erin Nelson (FC)
  • Wins | 22 - Emily Seale (VWU); 14 - Jada Karnes (RC); 7 - Emily Charlton (LYN)/Kayla Stephenson (SU)
  • Saves | 4 - Emily Charlton (LYN); 2 - Jada Karnes (RC); 1 - Shannan Hester (RC)/Erin Nelson (FC)/Cassie Powell (LYN)/Skyler Swaney (FC)
  • Complete Games | 13 - Jada Karnes (RC); 10 - Emily Seale (VWU)/Brantley Swift (BC)
  • Strikeouts | 109 - Jada Karnes (RC); 63 - Emily Seale (VWU); 46 - Emily Campbell (EMU)
  • Strikeouts/7 Innings | 6.83 - Jada Karnes (RC); 4.11 - Lyndsey Sears (FC); 3.90 - Emily Campbell (EMU)

RETURNING ALL-ODAC TALENT | 2021 ALL-ODAC SOFTBALL AWARDS
The 2022 season features 19-of-40 All-ODAC honorees from the 2021 spring campaign, but only four of the 14 stars from the All-ODAC First Team return to league rosters. Lynchburg and Virginia Wesleyan feature the most returners with four each.

   PITCHERS/CATCHERS

• Olivia Herman (LYN) -- All-ODAC Third Team (C)
• Jada Karnes (RC) -- All-ODAC First Team (P)
• Emily Seale (VWU) -- All-ODAC Second Team (P) (ODAC Rookie of the Year)
• Rachel Sirbaugh (RC) -- All-ODAC Second Team (C)
• Brantley Swift (BC) -- All-ODAC Second Team (P)
• Sarah Wimer (BC) -- All-ODAC Third Team (C)

   INFIELDERS

• Karle Cundiff (LYN) -- All-ODAC Third Team (3B)
• Karlee Fretz (VWU) -- All-ODAC First Team (1B)
• Ally Morales (GC) -- All-ODAC Second Team (3B)
• Tori Shifflett (BC) -- All-ODAC Second Team (2B)
• Julia Sinnett (VWU) -- All-ODAC First Team (SS)
• Sophie Tully (LYN) -- All-ODAC Third Team (1B)

   OUTFIELDERS

• Arielle Eure (FC) -- All-ODAC Third Team
• Lexi Powell (LYN) -- All-ODAC Second Team
• Ariana Rolle (VWU) -- All-ODAC First Team
• Nikki Stone (SU) -- All-ODAC Third Team

   DESIGNATED PLAYER/UTILITY

• Casey Bungting (GC) -- All-ODAC Second Team (DP)
• Sierra Lantz (EMU) -- All-ODAC Second Team (DP)
• Chloe Persinger (RAND) -- All-ODAC Second Team (UT)

ODAC HEAD COACHES
Some of the best coaches in the business lead ODAC teams in all sports. Below we take a look at the career records and tenures for the league's softball coaches entering the 2022 campaign.

• Megan Pleskovich (BC) -- Overall: 24-18 (.571)/2 | at BC: 24-18 (.571)/2
• J.D. McCurdy (EMU) -- Overall: 336-274-1 (.551)/18 | at EMU: 336-274-1 (.551)/18
  • 3x ODAC Coach of the Year (2007, 10, 16)
• Gerald Culler (FC) -- Overall: 121-96 (.558)/6 | at FC: 121-96 (.558)/6
• Dennis Shores (GC) -- Overall: 315-254-3 (.553)/15 | at GC: 315-254-3 (.553)/15
  • 1x ODAC Coach of the Year (2008)
• Dawn Simmons (LYN) -- Overall: 640-327-2 (.662)/23 | at LYN: 640-327-2 (.662)/23
  • 5x ODAC Coach of the Year (2001, 03-05, 13)
• Kasdyn Waldron (RAND) -- Overall: 10-27-1 (.276)/2 | at RAND: 10-27-1 (.276)/2
• Kevin Proffitt (RMC) -- Overall: 422-254-2 (.624)/19 | at R-MC: 422-254-2 (.624)/19
  • 1x ODAC Coach of the Year (2007)
• Mike Mitchell (RC) -- Overall: 268-194 (.580)/13 | at RC: 268-194 (.580)/13
  • 1x ODAC Coach of the Year (2012)
• Courtney Moyer (SU) -- Overall: 18-26 (.409)/2 | at SU: 18-26 (.409)/2
• Brandon Elliott (VWU) -- Overall: 507-116-1 (.813)/13 | at VWU: 507-116-1 (.813)/13
  • 8x ODAC Coach of the Year (2011-12, 14-15, 17-19, 21)

THE SCHEDULE AND TOURNAMENT

• ODAC teams are slated to play a full 18-game league schedule; the maximum number of games a team can play overall is 40
• The first regular season games are set for the weekend of February 11-13
• Virginia Wesleyan travels to Roanoke for the first conference doubleheader on March 20; the rest of conference play begins on March 26
• The ODAC Softball Tournament returns to Salem, Va., and the Moyer Complex for its traditional eight-team double-elimination format; Field 1 and Field 3 are used for the first 10 games on April 29-30; Games 11 through the remainder of the tournament will be played on Field 1 on the afternoon of April 30 and May 1
• The selections for the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament will be announced on Monday, May 9
• The Moyer Complex will serve as the host venue for the final eight for the second straight year on May 26-31

Listed below is the 2022 ODAC Softball Preseason Poll. For more information on ODAC softball, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.

2022 ODAC SOFTBALL PRESEASON POLL