Concordia has gathered a trophy case full of hardware over the last seven years, and they are the odds on favorite to add to that bounty in 2025.

The Pacific West Conference coaches have them at the top of the annual preseason poll, gathering 10 of the 11 possible first place votes. Azusa Pacific, who has finished second in the PacWest standings two of the past three years, received the other first place vote and landed second on the prediction list.

It will all play out very soon, with first pitch coming on Friday, January 31. For seven PacWest teams, opening day will be in Irvine at the Concordia Kick-Off Classic. Three months later, four teams hope to extend their season to Irvine, site of the 2025 Pacific West Conference Championships, April 30 to May 2. 

Concordia won the 2022, 2023, 2024 PacWest regular season titles, and also captured the first two PacWest tournaments in 2023 and 2024. Additionally, they won the banner in 2018 and 2019, and claimed their Southern California Pod during the 2021 Covid season. 

Head coach Crystal Rosenthal had 11 players returning from the 2024 squad that finished 24-4 in conference play, five games ahead of Azusa Pacific. That group includes PacWest Freshman of the Year Jessica Im and 2024 PacWest tournament MVP Shelby Pfeiler. Rosenthal's challenge will be replacing 16 departed players, including the 1-2 pitching combination of Katlin Entrup and Cortney Koelmans. One obvious replacement piece is Grand Canyon grad transfer Kayla Rodgers, who hit .358 for the 'Yotes last season and was the 2023 Western Athletic Conference tournament MVP.

Azusa Pacific finished second to the Golden Eagles last season in the conference standings and in the conference tournament final. But the Cougars qualified for the NCAA tournament last year, winning a game before closing their season at 31-21. 

Head coach Carrie Weber has 14 players returning from that team, includng Caitlin DeCanio who led the PacWest in home runs last spring with ten and is a three-time All-PacWest selection. Bella Fraser and Sommer Quionones are also back for the Cougars, both of them having earned All-PacWest honors. Like CUI, APU lost some key pieces including all-everything player Katie Korstrom, but they will try and regroup with ten new players and four transfers. 

Landing third in the preview is Hawai`i Hilo (88 points), who was sixth in the 2024 preseason poll but finished third in the conference and won a game at the PacWest tournament. Head coach Aisha Sueda has 16 players back from that squad, and only lost five. That impressive returnee list includes Rayna White (.348), Lexie Tilton (.347), Victoria Macias (39 RBI), Jayda Favela (32 runs) and the 1-2 pitching punch of Chloe Sales (2.11 ERA) and Tehani Seto (2.20). Macias was second in the PacWest RBI totals and Favela was second in runs scored. 

Finishing just one poll point back of UHH was Biola (87). Head coach Kristin Halte has near even split of returnees (12) and players lost (10) from a squad that finished fourth last year and qualified for the PacWest tournament. Alexa Medley is back, having hit .376 in 2024, second best in the league. The second baseman was a First Team All-PacWest pick. Halte did lose a slew of key players to graduation, including All-PacWest selections Abie Nowak, Brie Nowak, Raylene Roybal, and Kaitlyn Hawkins. Pitcher Raquel Reyes, a grad transfer who started the past three seasons for Division I Columbia University, will help fill the gap.

There are three new members in the PacWest this year, and next on the list is one of those programs. Jessup checks in at No. 5 in the poll with an impressive resume. The Warriors were 44-12 last spring, won the Golden State Athletic Conference championship and advanced all the way to the NAIA title game. Head coach Brie Campbell has 12 back from that team, including the NAIA Player of the Year in Sarah Giles. The infielder won the NAIA statistical triple crown with a .553 batting average, 21 home runs and 76 RBI. All-GSAC selections Madisyn Leffle and Maddy Ybarra are also back for the Warriors.

Fellow PacWest newcomer Vanguard is tied for sixth in the poll with Dominican. Vanguard went 42-13 last year, finished second to Jessup but won the GSAC tournament. They went 2-2 at the NAIA tournament. Head coach Sydney Lahners has 20 players returning from that club, including GSAC Co-Pitcher of the Year Brianna Williams, who was 22-6 with a 1.72 ERA. Shortstop Kamryn Walker is back, after winning GSAC Freshman of the Year with a .420 batting average. 

Dominican just missed out on a PacWest tournament spot last year, and returns a stout 21 players from that team. Head coach Julianna Santos welcomes back Tiare Guerrero who led the PacWest in stolen bases (22) and hit .338. Santos will have to find a replacement for Shelby Keltner, a starting pitching cornerstone for the Penguins for the past five seasons. 

Chaminade checks in at No. 8, led by the PacWest Player of the Year, Taryn Fujioka. The shortstop hit .415, and along with Larchelle Tuifao were All-West Region selections (Tuifao as a DP). Head coach Kent Yamaguchi has 10 players back and lost seven. 

Tied for ninth in the poll is Academy of Art and Hawai`i Pacific. Academy of Art returns All-PacWest honorees Cailee Grayhorse-Pupecki and Alexis Folks, and head coach Geena Garabedian returns 11 players overall. Hawai`i Pacific returns 13 players and lost only two from their 2024 team. Back is two-time All-PacWest pick Jewell Larson. Head coach Jarnett Lono also adds seven total newcomers to the mix. PacWest newcomer Menlo is next. Head coach Skylynne Ellazar had 19 returnees, including leading hitter Bella Cortez. 

After over three weeks of non-conference action, PacWest play officially begins with a three-game series between Chaminade and Hawai`i Pacific on February 19-20. Over the course of the next five days, all 11 PacWest teams will have begun official play. To see the complete schedule, click here. Be sure to see the links above for capsules on each team, the PacWest softball record book and the Players to Watch list.