South Dakota State Selected Favorite in Summit League Preseason Poll

The following release information was issued by the Summit League and information and photos courtesy of the Summit League…

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the third straight season, South Dakota State, the defending Summit League regular season champions, has been tabbed as the preseason favorite for the 2024 season after a vote of the league’s seven head coaches in the annual preseason poll.

The Jackrabbits, who received four first-place votes and 34 total points, will be vying for their fourth-straight regular season crown after claiming the 2023 title with a perfect league mark of 17-0 and finished with a 39-19 overall record.

Omaha was just one point behind SDSU and received the three remaining first-place votes after finishing last season second in the standings and claiming its first tournament title in program history. South Dakota was tabbed to finish third for the first time since the 2021 season and garnered 24 points.

North Dakota State, who will be searching for their ninth overall regular season crown, was slated to finish fourth (22). North Dakota was predicted to finish fifth (14), while Kansas City and St. Thomas both tallied 10 points and was picked to finish tied for sixth.

Summit League teams begin action on Thursday, Feb. 8. The 2024 Summit League Softball Championship will take place May 8-11 at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium in Brookings, S.D.

2024 Summit League Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

2024 Summit League Preseason Players to Watch
Note: Players to Watch nominated by league’s head coaches

Kansas City
Sydney Nichols // Infield // Senior // Cameron, Mo.
• Named an Honorable Mention honoree after ranking second with 128 assists in the infield
• Posted 11 doubles during league play to put her seventh and had the second-highest batting average on the team with .263 in 52 games
• Led the team in at-bats with 160, earning 42 hits

Camryn Stickel // Pitcher // Senior // Raymore, Mo.
• Made 26 appearances in the circle with 14 starts, pitching a total of 76.2 innings and recorded 59 strikeouts with three wins
• Ranked fifth in league play for hits allowed with 41 and gave up 15 walks during league action, ranking her fourth

North Dakota
Jackie Albrecht // Junior // Pitcher // Barrington, Ill.
• Pitched in 32 games with 24 starts, throwing a team-high eight complete games with 113 strikeouts
• Led team with 133.2 innings pitched
• Posted a career-high nine strikeouts against Western Illinois on May 5^th

Cassie Castaneda // Graduate // Catcher // Tucson, Ariz.
• Named the Defensive Player of the Year and All-Summit League First Team honoree after catching 21 batters stealing, which was the second most in all of Division I
• Set new career highs in batting average (.318), runs (24), hits (49), doubles (13), home runs (5) and RBI (30)

North Dakota State
Emilee Buringa // Outfield // Senior // St. Charles, Minn.
• Named to the All-Summit League first team after starting all 51 games in center field with 41 hits in 148 at-bats (.277)
• Recorded 11 multi-hit games, recorded 64 total bases for a .432 slugging percentage
• Hit seven doubles, two triples, four home runs, 20 walks and a .397 on-base percentage

Anjolee Aguilar-Beaucage // Infield // Senior // Tucson, Ariz.
• Named to last season’s All-Summit League Second Team after appearing in all 50 games with 50 starts
• Had 44 hits in 148 at-bats (.297), recorded 11 multi-hit games, totaled 74 bases for a .500 slugging percentage, hit 10 doubles and one triple
• Posted six home runs, a .364 on-base percentage and 13 walks

Omaha
Kamryn Meyer // Pitcher // Graduate // Wilton, Iowa
• Named to last season’s All-Summit League First Team, All-Tournament Team and Summit League Tournament MVP leading the league in ERA (1.26) and strikeouts (283) while becoming the Mavericks’ all-time leader in strikeouts and is currently at 778
• Made 35 appearances and 26 starts in the circle, pitching 18 complete games with five shutouts
• Finished the season with an 18-8 ledger with a in 189.1 innings of work

Lynsey Tucker // Infield // Graduate // Lincoln, Neb.
• Named to the All-Summit League First Team and All-Tournament Team after starting in all 50 games at second base where she hit .364 with 60 hits, including eight doubles
• Tallied a team-high 60 hits with 20 RBI a .430 slugging percentage and was 14-for-15 on stolen bases
• Notched an .844 OPS in 165 at-bats with an on-base percentage of .414

St. Thomas
Christina Crawford // Pitcher // Junior // Elkhorn, Wis.
• Missed the 2023 season due to an injury and will be the starter who gets most of the Tommies’ innings this season
• Pitched 130.1 inning her freshman season with a 4.99 ERA and .279 batting average against with 100 strikeouts
• Earned an 8-11 record in 23 starts and 27 appearances

Avery Wukawitz // Utility // Sophomore // Woodbury, Minn.
• Named the 2023 Summit League Newcome of the Year where she ranked second in league play with 24 hits and led the league in total hits (58), triples (6) and fielding percentage (1.000)
• Finished the season in the top-five in the league in runs (40), total bases (94), slugging percentage (.584) on-base percentage (.449), stolen bases (19) and OPS (1.033)
• Posted 17 multi-hit games throughout the season and finished with five multi-RBI games

South Dakota
Clara Edwards // Pitcher // Junior // Clay Center, Kan.
• All-Summit League First Team honoree where she entered the program’s top-10 list for career pitching victories
• Tossed the program’s first no-hitter since 2009 and drove in two runs in a 3-0 win against Western Illinois
• Was 15-12 with a 2.47 ERA in 31 starts and 33 appearances in the circle with 23 complete games, six shutouts and one combined shutout

Gabby Moser // Infield // Senior // Central City, Neb.
• All-Summit League Second Team honoree in the infield and started 47 games in right field where she hit .278 with a team-high 11 doubles
• Posted two home runs, two triples, drove in 27 runs and scored 22 runs
• Went 7-for-7 on opening day with a home run, two doubles, two walks and 10 RBI in wins against Drake and defending Missouri Valley champion Northern Iowa

South Dakota State
Tori Kniesche // Pitcher // Senior // Wayne, Neb.
• Named the 2023 Summit League Pitcher of the Year, All-Summit League First Team, NFCA All-Midwest Region First Team, Summit League All-Tournament Team and NISC All-Tournament Team
• Finished season with a 24-7 record and a 1.57 ERA in 33 appearances (30 starts)
• Threw 195 2/3 innings with two saves, struck out 261 batters, gave up an opposing batting average of .152, ended year among the best in Division I in pitching including first in shutouts (14), fifth in hits allowed per seven innings (3.58), seventh in strikeouts, 13^th in victories, 23^rd in innings pitched and 32^nd in earned run average

Jocelyn Carrillo // Outfield // Senior // Palmdale, Calif.
• Named a 2023 All-Summit League First Team performer and was the league’s batting champions (.423) in 17 conference games with two home runs, seven doubles and 15 RBI
• Ended the season as the league leader and 29^th in Division I in doubles with 16
• Played and started all 58 games in center field, batted .317 and tied for team lead with seven home runs and 36 RBI

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