TLU Softball Ranked No. 4 in NFCA Preseason Coaches Poll

SEGUIN, Texas -- The Texas Lutheran softball team is No. 4 in the 2023 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll announced Tuesday.

The Bulldogs No. 4 ranking in the NFCA D-III Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll marks the fourth consecutive season that Texas Lutheran has been selected in the preseason top five and the sixth time the Bulldogs have landed in the top 10 of the NFCA preseason poll since the organization began announcing the preseason poll in 1997.

TLU was joined by Christopher Newport, Trine, Salisbury, and Berry in the top five. Texas Lutheran will face three teams ranked in the preseason top 25 this year - Babson (Feb. 25), Piedmont (Mar. 8) and Mary Hardin-Baylor (Mar. 21).

The 2023 NFCA Division-III Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 10 NCAA Division-III head coaches with one representing each of the NCAA's D3 Regions.

The full NFCA poll can be viewed here.

The 2023 preseason rankings are further validation of how the Bulldog have earned a spot amongst the sport's elite in recent years.

Texas Lutheran has been ranked in the Top 25 of the NFCA poll in each of its last 146 games played.

The Bulldogs were recently selected as the SCAC preseason favorite, marking the ninth straight year that TLU has topped the conference's preseason poll.

The Bulldogs have advanced to each of the last three Division-III Women's College World Series, the only D-III team with that claim, and return six starters - including All-American Ashlyn Strother (Seabrook/Clear Falls), All-Region pitcher Sydney Ouellette (Corpus Christi/Gregory Portland), and All-SCAC First Team first baseman Laura Hernandez (Missouri City/Ridge Point) - from last year's team that advanced to Salem and finished the 2022 season ranked third in the nation. The 2022 campaign saw the team win a program record 45 games, finishing 45-6, and claiming their eighth straight SCAC regular season and tournament championships.

TLU opens the 2023 season Feb. 15 in San Antonio, Texas, as they take on Division-II St. Mary's, a 2022 NCAA Division-II Softball Tournament Qualifier before facing NAIA's Huston-Tillotson on on Sat, Feb. 18 for the home opener to conclude 2023's Opening Week. The 2023 schedule features 25 home games, including four SCAC Series at Ed Kruse Stadium in Seguin.

For more information on Texas Lutheran softball, follow the Bulldogs on Facebook (@txlutheransoftball), Twitter (@TLUsoftball), and Instagram (@tlu_softball) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on Twitter, @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).