Complete Release
The Big West Conference released its 2010 Softball Coaches Poll on Tuesday, and the UC Riverside softball team was selected to finish eighth.
In what could be one of the closest Big West races in recent memory, defending champion Cal Poly was named the favorite to claim the conference softball title in a tight vote of the league's eight head coaches.
The Mustangs received four first place votes on the way to 56 points, with second place Long Beach State nabbing one first place vote and 51 points. Just one point behind the 49ers was Cal State Fullerton, which grabbed two first place votes.
UC Santa Barbara came in fourth place with 43 points, while Cal State Northridge grabbed the final first place vote on the way to 28 tallies for the fifth position.
UC Davis came in sixth with 25 points, while Pacific (19) and the Highlanders (16) wrapped up the 2010 preseason poll.
UC Riverside concluded the 2009 season winning a school-best seven conference games while finishing sixth in the standings.
The Highlanders open the 2010 season on Saturday, Feb. 13 against Boise State at 11:30 am in San Diego.
| 2010 Big West Preseason Softball Coaches Poll |
| No. |
Team |
Pts. |
| 1. |
Cal Poly (4) |
56 |
| 2. |
Long Beach State (1) |
51 |
| 3. |
Cal State Fullerton (2) |
50 |
| 4. |
UC Santa Barbara |
43 |
| 5. |
Cal State Northridge (1) |
28 |
| 6. |
UC Davis |
25 |
| 7. |
Pacific |
19 |
| 8. |
UC Riverside |
16 |
| |
| First-place votes are in parentheses |