Jan. 26, 2016
OKLAHOMA CITY - San Diego State is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate preseason top-25 poll, ASA/USA Softball announced today. The Aztecs picked up four votes, tied with North Carolina and Texas State for the 36th most in the poll.
Defending national champion Florida is ranked first with 495 points, followed by Michigan (473), LSU (445), Oregon (428) and Alabama (412). SDSU is 43 points away from the top 25 and No. 25 North Carolina State (47). Notre Dame leads the receiving votes group with 42 points, while North Dakota State (16), Texas (13), USC Upstate (11), Virginia Tech (11), Fresno State (8), Hofstra (8), South Alabama (8), Kansas (7), Northwestern (7), San Diego State (4), UNC (4), TSU (4), Nebraska (3), Ohio State (3), Mississippi State (2) and South Carolina (1) are also getting votes.
The Aztecs are coming off a 38-20 season, advancing to the NCAA Regional final for the third time since 2011 and fifth time in 11 tournament trips before being eliminated by eventual Women's College World Series opponent UCLA. SDSU, one of just 20 schools in the country to play in an NCAA tournament at least eight consecutive years, finished 2015 with seven school records, including batting average (.310), slugging percentage (.486), runs (324), home runs (63), RBIs (293), total bases (758) and hits (484).
SDSU returns five starters and four pitchers from last season's team, including first-team all-Mountain West pitcher Erica Romero and catcher Jenavee Peres. San Diego State kicks off the 2016 season against Canisius and Cal State Fullerton at the Easton Tournament on Feb. 12 in Fullerton, Calif.