Defending Champs Belmont Lead Tight Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll
This week, preseason conference predictions and awards have been released across the country, and among those is the Missouri Valley Conference.
Last year's conference tournament champs, the Belmont Bruins, were voted preseason favorites to take it again in 2026.
The voting for the top four was close, with the No. 1 Belmont Bruins and the third-place Southern Illinois Salukis separated by just 10 points. The Salukis were the regular-season champions last year and went down in the conference tournament championship game, 6-2, to Belmont.
The Bruins received six first-place votes, with Northern Iowa coming second with 99 points and four first-place votes. Southern Illinois, as mentioned above, took third with 94 points, and Illinois State rounded out the top four with 77 points.
2026 MVC Softball Preseason Poll and Team ❗
— Missouri Valley Conference (@MVCsports) January 22, 2026
1️⃣@belmontsoftball
2️⃣@unisoftball
3️⃣@siu_softball
4️⃣@redbirdsoftball
FULL STORY: https://t.co/xxUBUYBYgI#TheValleyRunsDeep pic.twitter.com/x4nqLPVAGx
One of the biggest names in the conference garnered a lot of attention over the summer, as many thought pitcher Maya Johnson was as good as gone once she entered the transfer portal. However, Johnson elected to return to Nashville to finish her career with the Bruins, where she was voted Most Valuable Pitcher in 2025, with 20 starts in 26 games. She posted a 16-5 record with a 1.49 ERA, 216 strikeouts in 141.1 innings of work.
To no surprise, Johnson is included on the preseason All-MVC First Team, as well as UNI's Kate Lappe, who was last season's MVP of the MVC, and Emily Williams of Southern Illinois. Williams was the Newcomer of the Year in 2025.
They forgot they were pitching to MVC Player of the Year Kate Lappe!!#EverLoyal | #1UNI pic.twitter.com/Skojy9MSoe
— UNI Softball (@UNISoftball) May 9, 2025
Kate Lappe had a monster year for the Panthers. She finished 2025 with a .433 batting average, led the conference with a .915 slugging percentage, which was the second highest single season percentage in UNI history, and it was 12th in the country. Lappe also showed her power in home runs with 19.
The preseason All-MVC honors include 12 First-Team selections and seven honorable mentions. UNI has the most players selected on the first team with four. Belmont, Bradley, and Southern Illinois all placed two players each on the list, with Valparaiso and Murray State each placing one player on the first team selections.
Just over two weeks until first pitch! Cats picked second in the preseason poll and five athletes named to the preseason teams!
— UNI Softball (@UNISoftball) January 22, 2026
📰 https://t.co/C1THYnmGCp#EverLoyal | #1UNI pic.twitter.com/T4cYWHj4VE
The Belmont Bruins and UNI Panthers look to have a lot of potential, as they both had five players each selected on the preseason list.
Below is the complete list.
All-MVC First Team
- 1B Olivia Turner (Bradley)
- 2B Skylar Benesh (UNI)
- 3B Kate Lappe (UNI)
- SS Nicole Hughes (Belmont)
- C Drew Hinrichs (UNI)
- UT/P Azalya Lopez (Valparaiso)
- DT/UP-NP Emily Williams (S. Illinois)
- OF Mikaela Coburn (Southern Illinois)
- OF Katy Huels (Murray State)
- OF Kierston McCoy (Bradley)
- P Maya Johnson (Belmont)
- P Anna Wischnowski (UNI)
All-MVC Honorable Mention
- 1B Ella Smithson (UNI)
- 3B Rylee Spindler (Belmont)
- C Brenna Blume (Belmont)
- OF Maddy Balsiger (Belmont)
- OF Ava Curry (Drake)
- OF Morgan Goodrich (Indiana St.)
- P Hannah Meshnick (Illinois State)
This year's Missouri Valley Conference play will begin on March 6. May 7-9 will conclude with the MVC Tournament Championship at Charlotte West Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois, hosted by the Southern Illinois Salukis.
