Concordia is the unanamous choice of the Pacific West Conference coaches to win the 2024 regular season title and the Golden Eagles also earned the preseason Pitcher of the Year and a share of the preseason Player of the Year award.

2024 PacWest Softball Poll
1.	Concordia (8)	64
2.	Azusa Pacific	53
3.	Biola	46
4.	Dominican	34
5.	Hawaii Pacific	28
6.	Hawaii Hilo	26
7.	Chaminade	25
8.	Academy of Art	12
First-place votes in parenthesis

If you think this sounds a lot like the 2023 predictions, you're right. Last January, the Golden Eagles were the undisputed choice to repeat as title winners and Katlin Entrup was the preseason pitcher of the year. It's true again in 2024, with the addition of shortstop Rylie Rohr selected as the co-player of the year, sharing with Azusa Pacific's Katie Korstrom. 

There was no jinx in 2023 to those preseason awards. The Golden Eagles would go on to win their second straight title and fourth crown since 2018. They would also win the first-ever PacWest Conference Championship Tournament and advance to the NCAA West Regionals for the fifth consectuvie year. Coach Crystal Rosenthal's squad would wrap the year at 48-13 overall with a 27-5 record in the PacWest, winning the title by seven games over second-place Biola.

Concordia returns 19 players from that team, including Entrup. The 2023 PacWest Pitcher of the Year went 17-5 last year with a 1.13 ERA, including five shutouts. She was a First Team All-Region choice and a Second Team All-American. The 1.13 ERA ranks seventh all-time in the PacWest for a single season. 

The Golden Eagles come into 2023-24 ranked No. 14 nationally. Another reason for that attention is Rohr, who led the PacWest in home runs last spring (17), RBI (43) and slugging percentage (.624). The home runs rank third in PacWest history for a single season. There are four other Golden Eagles selected by the league's coaches to the All-PacWest Preseason Team, including Missy Nemeth (1B), Mary Baccay (2B), Jocelyn Pino (3B) and Kaia Nisby (OF).

Nemeth was a Third Team All-PacWest selection last spring, hitting .300 with six home runs and 35 RBI. Baccay was a Second Team pick (.296, 22 RBI), Pino was First Team with a .333 average and 32 RBI and Nisby was a Third Team selection and a NFCA Gold Glove nominee in the outfield. CUI also returns starters Shelby Pfeiler (catcher, conference tournament MVP) and Courtney Koelmans, who was 6-1 with a 1.08 ERA in the pitching circle. 

Coach Rosenthal did lose some career pieces in Megan Massa, Callie Nunes, Daniela Alvarez, and Sydney Sprinkle, but also added Megan Casper and Gabby Villa. Caspar pitched four seasons at UC Riverside and Villa started at second base last year as a freshman for Loyola Marymount. 

That's a lot for the rest of the conference to chase. But there are more than a few willing suitors, including the team that the coaches picked second, Azusa Pacific. APU finished 2023 strong with a second place finish at the PacWest tournament and a went on a five-game run in the NCAA postseason, reaching the west region final.

The Cougars have the Preseason Co-Player of the Year in Katie Korstrom, who is a force as a pitcher and hitter. She led the PacWest with 20 wins in the pitcher's circle and had a 1.45 ERA, and at the plate drove in 31 runs, had 15 doubles and seven home runs. She was a First Team All-West Region selection.

2024 PacWest preseason utility player and designated player Caitlin DeCanio was also a First Team selection last year (PacWest and West Region), hitting .320 with ten doubles and 25 RBI. In all, the Cougars have 12 players returning with starting experience including Kinsey Erickson (OF, 2nd Team All-PacWest), Mia Alvarez (SS), and Sydnie Sahar (P). Coach Carrie Webber also welcomes the addition of New Mexico State transfer Felicia De La Torre, who started four season as a pitcher for the Aggies.

Fellow NCAA postseason squad Biola was placed in the third preseason slot by the PacWest coaches. Outfielder Allie Beck (.392, Second Team All-PacWest) is on the preseason team, along with two-way standout Raylene Roybal. Roybal was a First Team outfielder and Second Team pitcher, hitting .319 with a 2.01 ERA and a Rawlings Gold Glove. Head coach Kristin Halte has five starters returning overall including Third Team first baseman Abie Nowak (.306, 38 RBI). The Eagles did suffer two huge losses with Jennifer Morinishi (graduation), a four-time All-PacWest outfielder and shortstop Colby McClinton (transferred to CS Fullerton), the 2023 PacWest Player and Freshman of the Year.

Dominican checks in as the fourth team in the poll, riding the consistent arm of two-time All-PacWest pick Shelby Keltner. Head coach Juliana Santos has eight returning starters overall and her roster is also bolstered by three Holy Names transfers, including Second Team All-PacWest outfielder Olivia Lee. Next in the poll is Hawai`i Pacific at No. 5, led by Preseason first baseman and 2023 Second Team selection Tiari Hernandez who had 13 doubles, 15 stolen bases and earned Second Team honors last year. HPU head coach Jarnett Lono has seven players returning with starting experience from a team that qualified for the first-ever PacWest tournament in 2023.

Hawai`i Hilo is just two poll points and one slot behind the Sharks at No. 6. The Vulcans are led by slick fielding shortstop Jayda Favela, who hit .346 and had 20 stolen bases last year as a sophomore. UHH head coach Aisha Sueda has five starters returning along with transfers Kiani Nakamura (Oregon State) and Megan Yorba (Holy Names). Nakamura played on the 2022 Beavers team that advanced to the NCAA College World Series.

Chaminade is next in the poll and has 2024 PacWest Preseason picks in catcher Keaolani Takemura-Brehme and outfielder Chasity McKean. The senior backstop was a First Team All-PacWest pick and also earned All-West Region honors after hitting .389 with 11 triples and a league-best 41 RBI. McKean hit .331 last spring and was a Second Team honoree. The Silverswords are loaded with returning players (12) for head coach Kent Yamaguichi including All-PacWest selections Taryn Fujioka (Third Team,.352 and 46 runs scored), Jaeda Kumaewa-Cabunoc (Second Team) and Kailah Gatees-Coyoso (Second Team). Rounding out the poll is Academy of Art and 2024 Preseason pick Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki, a Third Team All-PacWest selection in 2023 who hit .336 for the Urban Knights. Fellow Third Team selection Audrey Allen also returns (.338) for first-year head coach Geena Garabedian, who made her way across the bay from Holy Names. 

All eight PacWest teams will be shooting to qualify for the four-team PacWest Championship tournament May 1-3 at Dominican University in San Rafael. That qualification journey begins on February 1 when Biola hosts Northwest Nazarene and Hawai`i Pacific travels to Westcliff to start the season. On February 2-4, seven of the eight conference squads will be in Irvine for the Concordia Kick-off Classic, featuring top teams from all across the west region. 

To see the Kick-off tournament schedule and the entire slate for the 2024 season, click here.
 

2024 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST SOFTBALL TEAM
Name	School	Pos.	Class	B/T	Hometown/Previous School
Keaolani Takemura-Brehme	Chaminade	C	Sr.	R/R	Pearl City, Hawaii/Mid-Pacific Inst.
Missy Nemeth	Concordia	1B	Sr.	L/R	Glendora, Calif. / Glendora HS
Tiari Hernandez	Hawaii Pacific	1B	Jr.	R/R	Waipahu, Hawaii / Pearl City HS
Mary Baccay	Concordia	2B	Sr.	R/R	Elk Grove, Calif./Cosumnes River CC
Jocelyn Pino	Concordia	3B	Gr.	R/R	San Jose, Calif. / Cupertino HS
Rylie Rohr*	Concordia	SS	Sr.	R/R	Yucca Valley, Calif./ Yucca Valley HS
Caitlin DeCanio	Azusa Pacific	UT-DP	Jr.	R/R	Clovis, Calif. / Clovis HS
Chasity McKean	Chaminade	OF	Sr.	R/R	Kapolei, Hawaii/Col. of S. Idaho
Allie Beck	Biola	OF	Sr.	L/L	Upland, Calif. / Upland HS
Kaia Nisby	Concordia	OF	Sr.	R/R	Lodi, Calif. / St. Mary’s HS
Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki	Academy of Art	OF	Sr.	L/R	Los Angeles, Calif. / Venice HS
Katlin Entrup ^	Concordia	P	Sr.	R/R	Claremont, Calif./ Univ. of San Diego
Katie Korstrom*	Azusa Pacific	P	Sr.	R/R	Abbotsford, BC / Yale Secondary
Raylene Roybal	Biola	P	Sr.	R/R	Pico Rivera, Calif. / Calvary Chapel

* - Preseason Co-Players of the Year
^ - Preseason Pitcher of the Year