A little more than a week away from games beginning, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference coaches are sizing up their competition.
Fort Lewis College was selected to finish seventh in the RMAC Preseason coaches poll, released Tuesday. FLC received 75 votes to land behind Chadron State (97) and in front of Regis (70).
Metro State, the defending RMAC tournament champion, will enter the season as the favorites to win the conference with 141 points and 10 first-place votes. CSU-Pueblo was selected second with 124 votes and the other three first-place votes.
Adams State and Colorado Mesa, last year’s regular-season champions, tied with 108 votes to be selected third ahead of UC-Colorado Springs (107).
FLC did not place a player on the RMAC Preseason All-Conference team, though FLC returns 13 players and six starters.
FLC finished 26-29 overall last season and 19-19 in RMAC play. The Skyhawks played the role of Cinderella in the conference tournament a year ago, playing for the championship after entering as the No. 8 seed.
Metro State’s Cassidy Smith was named the RMAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. In 31 appearances and 23 starts last season as freshman, she went 18-4 with a 4.03 earned-run average and 14 complete games. She struck out 41 batters and walked 31. She also hit for a .316 average.
Colorado Mesa’s Makayla Kovac was named the RMAC Preseason Player of the Year. The second-team All-American and returning RMAC Player of the Year hit .487 with 18 home runs, 20 doubles and four triples for the Mavericks last season.
FLC will begin its season at 5 p.m. Feb. 6 against Southeastern Oklahoma State in a tournament in Tucson, Ariz.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
