PORTLAND, Ore. - The Great Northwest Athletic Conference has released the results of the 2023 GNAC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll on Friday afternoon, with Northwest Nazarene unanimously selected to win their third-straight conference regular season championship.

The Nighthawks earned all seven coaches' first-place votes, totaling the maximum 49 points in the poll. Second through fourth in the poll is very tight, with Saint Martin's (36 points) edging out Western Washington (35 points) for second, and Central Washington (32 points) closely behind.

Western Oregon takes the fifth spot with 21 points, followed by Montana State Billings at 12 points and Simon Fraser at 11 points.

As mentioned, the Nighthawks will be looking to claim the GNAC regular season title for the third year in a row, while also going for their second-straight GNAC tournament title. In 2022, NNU went 18-6 in conference play to earn the top seed in the tournament. After a loss to Central Washington in the opener, the Nighthawks rattled off four-straight wins to claim the championship and automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals. At the West Regional, NNU upset region top seed Cal State San Marcos in the first game, but were then eliminated with losses to Sonoma State and San Marcos.

NNU is in very good shape to make a similar or even deeper run into the NCAA postseason this year. The Nighthawks graduated just one player from their 2022 conference title team, a very important piece of the team in First Team All-GNAC shortstop Ivy Hommel. However, two-time GNAC Pitcher of the Year and 2021 All-American Sidney Booth is back as one of the premier two-way players in the West, along with fellow 2022 GNAC First Team recipients Maia McNicoll (outfield) and Charlotte Forniss (first base/pitcher). Second Team honorees Abigail Gagnon (third base) and Tori Hensley (pitcher/DP) are also back to help power the Nighthawks. 

NNU will have a tough test to open the 2023 campaign, playing 11 games over a span of eight days from Feb. 2-9 in California. Seven of the 11 contests are against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2022, with doubleheaders against Concordia (2-seed in West Region), Azusa Pacific (7-seed in West Region), and Colorado Christian (8-seed in South Central Region), along with a single game against Chico State (3-seed in West Region). 

The Nighthawks will then have a well-deserved two-week break before visiting Western Washington in a non-conference matchup on Feb. 24-25. GNAC play gets underway at home on March 10-11 when NNU host Montana State Billings, with the rest of the Nighthawks' home GNAC slate including Western Washington on April 7-8 and Saint Martin's on April 21-22. The GNAC Championships are scheduled for May 4-6, hosted by Simon Fraser in Burnaby, British Columbia.


2023 GNAC Softball Preseason Poll
1. Northwest Nazarene, 49 pts (7 first-place votes)
2. Saint Martin's, 36 pts
3. Western Washington, 35 pts
4. Central Washington, 32 pts
5. Western Oregon, 21 pts
6. Montana State Billings, 12 pts
7. Simon Fraser, 11 pts