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ASUN Softball Releases 2026 Preseason Coaches Poll and Awards

North Florida was unanimously voted No.1.
Charles Mays|
UCA's Addie Graham was voted as the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year.
UCA's Addie Graham was voted as the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year. | Central Arkansas Athletics

The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) recently unveiled its preseason coaches poll and awards. All 12 head coaches in the league were of the same thought and selected the North Florida Ospreys as the preseason favorite, with the Eastern Kentucky Colonels coming in second.

North Florida Ospreys: Defending Champs

North Florida's 2025 season ended with a 47-14 record and near perfect conference record of 22-2. ASUN Coach of the Year Jeff Conrad and the Ospreys swept the conference titles last season, winning the regular season and the program's first conference tournament championship in history. Their historic run ended with an NCAA Regional Final appearance in Columbia, S.C.

UNF returns redshirt junior outfielder Kalyn McCarthy, who was also voted as the 2026 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

The Colonels Come in Second

The Eastern Kentucky Colonels were right there last season, finishing 38-16 and winning 17 of 20 home games during the season. The Colonels fell short in the ASUN Tournament, where they dropped two games to the champion Ospreys by two runs combined.

Kennedy Drafton is back and ready to go. The 2025 First Team All-ASUN selection started all 53 games for EKU, slashing .356/.489/.610 with nine home runs, 45 RBIs, 10 doubles, and 52 runs scored with 12 stolen bases added. Drafton was also placed on the All-ASUN preseason team.

Sugar Bears Have the Talent in Conway

In Conway, Ark., the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears were voted third after a 28-27 year in 2025.

However, UCA Head Coach Kayla Lucas has some outstanding pieces that are looking to make a better go of it in 2026. Addie Graham and Kaitlyn Graham were voted to the Preseason All-ASUN, with Addie selected as the Preseason Player of the Year.

Graham was a First Team All-ASUN selection last season and the ASUN Freshman of the Year. Kaitlyn was selected as a Third Team selection in 2025 and placed on the ASUN All-Freshman team.

2026 Preseason Coaches Poll

The conference coaches selected an 11-person Preseason All-ASUN team, with North Alabama placing three on the list in pitchers Emily Simon and Alivia Wilken, and infielder Briley Dover. Florida Gulf Coast, Austin Peay, and Central Arkansas placed two players each, with Eastern Kentucky and Stetson placing one each on the preseason list.

  1. North Florida (12), 144
  2. EKU, 121
  3. Central Arkansas, 112
  4. Austin Peay, 106
  5. FGCU, 98
  6. Stetson, 85
  7. North Alabama, 74
  8. Lipscomb, 65
  9. Jacksonville, 56
  10. Queens, 31
  11. West Georgia, 26
  12. Bellarmine, 18

2026 Preseason All-ASUN Team

  • P - Emily Simon (North Alabama)
  • P - Alivia Wilken (North Alabama)
  • C - Maddox Thomas (FGCU)
  • IF - Kiley Hinton (Austin Peay)
  • IF - Kaitlyn Graham (Central Arkansas)
  • IF - Kennedy Drafton (EKU)
  • IF - Briley Dover (North Alabama)
  • OF - Brie Howard (Austin Peay)
  • OF - Addie Graham (Central Arkansas)
  • OF - Olivia Black (FGCU)
  • UT/DP - Amber Chumley (Stetson)

ASUN Preseason Player of the Year: Addie Graham, UCA

Graham of the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears was a 2025 First Team All-ASUN selection as an outfielder and Freshman of the Year. Graham had a breakout freshman year, setting the standard with a .389 batting average with three home runs, 34 RBIs, 12 doubles, and one triple with 43 runs scored. In the field, Graham recorded 97 putouts with nine assists and eight errors for a fielding percentage of .930 in 114 total chances.

ASUN Preseason Pitchers of the Year: Emily Simon & Alivia Wilken, UNA

Both North Alabama pitchers Emily Simon and Alivia Wilken earned Preseason Pitcher of the Year honors. Simon recorded a 2.18 ERA with a 9-4 record and 62 strikeouts in 80.1 innings pitched across 19 appearances. One of the best things on her stat sheet is that no home runs were given up last season.

Wilken posted a 12-8 record with a 2.66 ERA and 104 strikeouts to 37 walks in 142 innings pitched in 2025. In 23 starts, Wilken tossed a complete game on 11 occasions, including against Detroit Mercy, where she notched 10 strikeouts in a complete game effort, allowing just two hits and two walks.

ASUN Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Brie Howard, APSU

Howard was a 2025 First Team All-ASUN selection and finished that season with a .354 batting average with eight home runs, 37 RBIs, seven doubles, three triples, and 38 runs scored. She recorded a hit in 38 games and recorded 18 extra-base hits on the year. On May 1, 2025, against Lipscomb, the Brighton, Tenn. native hit for the cycle, which was the first in program history.

Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Kalyn McCarthy, UNF

McCarthy was an every day centerfielder for the Ospreys in 2025 with 103 putouts, five assists, and just two errors in 110 total chances. That set her with a .982 fielding percentage.

"She has a chance to win a gold glove. She makes SportsCenter Top 10 catches daily in practice, as well as in games. She takes tremendous pride in that side of her game," said UNF Head Coach Jeff Conrad via North Florida's media release.

Conference play begins on March 14 and will conclude with the ASUN Championship May 5-9 at the UNF Softball Complex in Jacksonville, Florida.

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Charles Mays
CHARLES MAYS

Charles Mays is the owner of Mays SportsWire, LLC. Raised in Ridgely, Tenn., he currently resides in Knoxville, Tenn. He began his media career with Tomahawk Nation, part of SB Nation, where he covered Florida State athletics and also covered Clemson. In June of 2025, Mays launched Fastpitch Wire Softball to provide consistent coverage of the game at every level, an outlet that has consistently grown since its launch.

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