SEASIDE, Calif. — California Collegiate Athletic Association softball coaches tabbed defending champion Cal State Monterey Bay to repeat as league champions in the CCAA Preseason Coaches Poll released Monday.

CSUMB, ranked No. 15 in the NFCA Preseason Top 25), received six of a possible 11 first place votes. Chico State, which returns CCAA Pitcher of the Year Haley Gilham, received three first place votes and was picked to finish second. 2017 NCAA West Region Champion Humboldt State claimed the remaining two first place votes and is projected to finish in third.

The Otters won their fifth CCAA title in the last eight seasons (2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017), finishing 30–8 in CCAA play to take the crown by four games over runner–up Cal State San Bernardino and 4.5 games over Humboldt State.

CSUMB returns a loaded roster featuring 2017 CCAA Player of the Year Julia Garcia (Oxnard HS/Ventura College) who became the first player in CCAA history to win the conference Triple Crown, leading the circuit in average (.451), homers (15) and RBI (62). Joining Garcia will be CCAA Freshman of the Year Hayley Fein (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs HS) and fellow first team All–CCAA selections Courtney Hennings (Amador Valley HS) and Jayme Stark (La Quinta HS).

The Otters open their 2018 campaign Friday at the Desert Stinger Classic in Las Vegas, Nev. CSUMB will face West Region rivals Saint Martin's University (4:30 p.m.) and Northwest Nazarene (7:00 p.m.) on opening day.

 

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No.	SCHOOL [1st place votes]	POINTS	2017 (CCAA)	2017 (ALL)
1	CSUMB [6]	96	30–8	43–13
2	Chico State [3]	88	25–13	39–18
3	Humboldt State [1]	78	22–11	44–15
4	Cal State San Bernardino	72	27–13	38–21
5	Sonoma State	69	26–14	38–20
6	UC San Diego	54	21–19	30–22
7	Cal State East Bay	53	19–19	27–25
8	Stanislaus State	35	13–27	23–32
9	San Francisco State	27	13–27	21–31
10	Cal State San Marcos	22	11–28	12–36
11	Cal State Dominguez Hills	11	6–34	8–45