MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Concordia University Wisconsin, which has captured three NACC titles in the past four seasons, is the near-unanimous pick to win the 2023 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) softball title according to the annual preseason poll released Tuesday.
Concordia Wisconsin secured 25 of 26 first-place votes and posted 337 points in the poll, which consists of votes from the league's head softball coaches and athletics communications professionals. The Falcons finished 36-6 overall and 20-3 in league play, winning the 2022 NACC Softball Tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament. CUW went 2-2 in a regional hosted by Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio.
Milwaukee School of Engineering edged Aurora University, 293-291, for second place with Benedictine University not far behind in fourth with 270 points. The Spartans received the final first-place mention from the voters.
Dominican University placed fifth with 209 points, followed closely by Edgewood College (199) and Lakeland University (195). Marian University (157) was slotted into the eighth spot, Concordia University Chicago (137) ninth, and St. Norbert College (95) tenth, while Wisconsin Lutheran College (85), Rockford University (67), and Alverno College (31) rounded out the poll.
National Polls: Concordia Wisconsin was 16th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 Preseason Poll released earlier this month.
New Coaches: There are two new coaches in the NACC this season.
Brooke Gajewski takes over as the first full-time softball coach at MSOE. An NFCA Division II All-American as a student-athlete at McKendree, Gajewski started her coaching journey as the hitting coach at UW-Parkside from 2018-2020 before spending the past two seasons at Quincy University where she worked with the pitching staff.
At Rockford,
Sam Korn has been named the eighth head coach in program history. No stranger to the NACC, Korn was a three-sport athlete at Alverno, starting 122 games in her four years with the Inferno softball program. After graduation, she served as an assistant coach at University of Pikeville (Ky.) and Bridgewater College (Va.).
2023 Schedule: Dominican will be the first NACC program to take the field when the Stars face Augustana (Ill.) and Finlandia on Thursday evening in Peoria, Illinois. Concordia Wisconsin, Edgewood, Lakeland, Marian, and MSOE follow over the weekend as the Falcons, Eagles, and Sabres travel to Rhinelander, Wisconsin, to play a series of games at the Hodag Dome, while the Muskies make the short trip to UW-Oshkosh for a doubleheader. MSOE will open its season Sunday with games against Alma and Messiah in Winter Haven, Florida.
Wisconsin Lutheran opens March 4 with games at UW-Oshkosh against UW-Superior and Lawrence, while Alverno, Concordia Chicago, and Rockford begin Florida trips the following day. Aurora begins its own Florida trip on March 6, while Benedictine and St. Norbert follow suit on March 10 and March 12, respectively.
Dominican and Concordia Wisconsin get a jump on the NACC slate with a doubleheader on Sunday, March 26. The Falcons get in an additional league twin-bill against Edgewood on Friday, March 31, before the rest of the league gets underway the following day (April 1) with six doubleheaders -- St. Norbert at Concordia Chicago, Wisconsin Lutheran at Concordia Wisconsin, Benedictine at Lakeland, Alverno at Aurora, Rockford at MSOE, and Dominican at Marian.
The final date of regular-season play is Sunday, May 7.
NACC Tournament: The top six teams in the final standings qualify for the 2023 NACC Softball Tournament. The double-elimination tournament is slated for Thursday-Saturday, May 11-13 at Bedrosian Stadium in Montgomery, Illinois. Aurora University is the tournament host. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth in the 2023 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
2023 NACC Softball Preseason Poll
| Institution |
Points |
| Concordia Wisconsin (25) |
337 |
| MSOE |
293 |
| Aurora (1) |
291 |
| Benedictine |
270 |
| Dominican |
209 |
| Edgewood |
199 |
| Lakeland |
195 |
| Marian |
157 |
| Concordia Chicago |
137 |
| St. Norbert |
95 |
| Wisconsin Lutheran |
85 |
| Rockford |
67 |
| Alverno |
31 |