RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist, last year's Great American Conference Tournament Championship runner-up, was picked to finish in second as GAC officials released their preseason coaches' poll on Wednesday.
Southern Arkansas topped the poll with 119 votes including nine first-place nods. Coach
Jace Brewer's squad was second with 106 votes and a pair of first-place votes while Harding checked in at third.
OBU is coming off a season in which it won 26 of its last 32 games en route to the GAC Tournament Final. The Bison ended their season with a 36-17 record.
Several key contributors are back for Brewer, who attained the most wins by a first-year coach in OBU Softball history. Among those are All-GAC honorees
Jaycee Shaffer,
Greenlee Wells and
Kaley Cook as well as senior third baseman
Ally Ryan whose 27 career bombs are fifth-most in school history.
2026 GAC Preseason Softball Poll
1. Southern Arkansas – 119 (9)
2.
Oklahoma Baptist - 106 (2)
3
. Harding - 103 (1)
4. Southern Nazarene – 88
t5. Arkansas Tech - 79
t5. Southeastern Oklahoma State - 79
7. Henderson State - 52
8. Southwestern Oklahoma State - 51
9. Arkansas-Monticello - 37
10. Ouachita - 35
11. East Central - 29
12. Northwestern Oklahoma State - 14
