COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The San Diego State softball team has been picked to win the Mountain West along with UNLV in a preseason poll voted on by the league's nine head coaches, the conference announced Thursday. The Aztecs have won a MW-record seven regular-season titles.
Both the Aztecs and Rebels received 57 points, but UNLV (5) had more first-place votes than SDSU (3). Fresno State had the other first-place vote and is tied with Boise State for third with 43 points, while Nevada was predicted fifth with 42 points. Rounding out the poll was Colorado State (35) in sixth, New Mexico (17) in seventh, and San José State and Utah State tied for eighth with 15 points.
Last year, San Diego State finished with a 28-16 record, its best winning percentage (.636) since the 2015 squad went 38-20 (.655) before falling in the NCAA Los Angeles Regional final to UCLA. It was also the ninth-best record in program history.
The Aztecs begin their first season under Stacey Nuveman Deniz on Feb. 10 at the SDSU Season Kickoff. SDSU opens with Middle Tennessee at 6 p.m. PT on Feb. 10 at SDSU Softball Stadium, and also plays Stanford (Feb. 11), UIC (Feb. 11 and Feb. 12), and Cal Poly (Feb. 13).
2022 MW Softball Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
T1. UNLV (5) - 57
T1. San Diego State (3) - 57
T3. Fresno State (1) - 43
T3. Boise State - 43
5. Nevada - 42
6. Colorado State - 35
7. New Mexico - 17
T8. San José State - 15
T8. Utah State - 15