LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Following a national championship campaign in 2022, the Christopher Newport softball team will open the season ranked No. 1 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Preseason Top 25. The rankings were released on Tuesday listing the Captains as a unanimous pick in the top spot.
After one of the most dominant Division III softball seasons in NCAA history, the defending national champion Christopher Newport softball team received all 10 points and 250 total points in the poll. The top five behind CNU was picked, in order, Trine, Salisbury, Texas Lutheran, and Berry.
The 2023 CNU Softball program joins only the 2012 CNU Volleyball and 2022 CNU Women's Soccer team as teams in Christopher Newport athletics history to earn the top spot in their sports respective preseason national rankings. CNU finished last season with a 47-1 overall record and captured the program's first-ever NCAA Division III National Championship.
CNU put together a dominating postseason run to capture the Walnut and Bronze trophy at the end of the season, winning all 10 NCAA Tournament games and closing the season on a program-record 24-game winning streak. The Captains are just the second team in history to win all ten postseason games on route to the title, joining the 2015 Tufts championship squad.
Christopher Newport featured one of the most well-rounded lineups in the nation in 2022 led by National Player of the Year
Kaitlyn Hasty and National Rookie of the Year
Jamie Martin. Hasty and the rest of the offense ranked first nationally in home runs, runs scored, slugging percentage, and seventh in batting average. Martin was a pivotal arm for a pitching staff that ranked second nationally in ERA, sixth in WHIP, and first in shutouts. Defensively, the Captains ranked in the top-20 nationally with a .970 fielding percentage.
This season, head coach
Keith Parr will need to replace seven starters in the lineup but returns all four pitchers from last seasn's squad. Martin was 22-1 with a 1.12 ERA in her first season as a Captain with seven shutouts. She struck out 160 batters in 150 innings pitched and was in the circle when CNU clinched the national championship. Fellow rookie
Kate Alger also had an outstanding season, notching a 15-0 record with a team-best 0.97 ERA. Alger held opponents to a .167 batting average against and struck out 112 in 87.0 IP. Additionally,
Abby Rochette and
Olivia Kim combined for a 10-0 record in 71 combined innings pitched.
Offensively,
Brooke Greaver was one of only five players to start all 48 games during the 2022 season. She hit .343 and ranked third on the team with 37 RBI and 9 home runs.
Katie Currin will also return to the lineup after driving in 33 with nine home runs. The pair will be joined by a deep roster that got plenty of experience a year ago as 15 players who appeared in at least 13 games will be options for Coach Parr. That group includes
Brooke Childress, who started 19 games and scored 32 runs and
Jules Donnelly, who appeared in 39 games with a perfect 12-for-12 in stolen base opportunities.
Christopher Newport will get their schedule underway on March 4-5 at the Grand Slam Triangle Classic. On the first day, CNU will face No. 6 Belhaven before taking on No. 11 Case Western Reserve on day two. Overall this season, the Captains are scheduled to face eight teams ranked in the pre-season Top 25 including No. 2 Trine, No. 3 Salisbury, No. 5 Berry, No. 7 Virginia Wesleyan, No. 8 Millikin, and No. 10 Randolph-Macon.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll – Preseason
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
2022 Record |
2022 Final Rank |
| 1 |
Christopher Newport (10) |
250 |
47-1 |
1 |
| 2 |
Trine |
240 |
35-13 |
2 |
| 3 |
Salisbury |
230 |
42-8 |
5 |
| 4 |
Texas Lutheran |
220 |
45-6 |
3 |
| 5 |
Berry |
210 |
36-13 |
4 |
| 6 |
Belhaven |
200 |
41-8 |
7 |
| 7 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
190 |
36-13 |
8 |
| 8 |
Millikin |
180 |
37-9 |
9 |
| 9 |
Bethel |
170 |
37-7 |
T10 |
| 10 |
Randolph-Macon |
160 |
35-11 |
T10 |
| 11 |
Case Western Reserve |
150 |
30-12 |
13 |
| 12 |
Linfield |
140 |
38-9 |
14 |
| 13 |
East Texas Baptist |
130 |
33-12 |
15 |
| 14 |
Wartburg |
120 |
30-4 |
17 |
| 15 |
Tufts |
110 |
36-12 |
T23 |
| 16 |
Concordia (Wis.) |
100 |
36-6 |
16 |
| 17 |
Eastern Connecticut State |
90 |
44-7 |
6 |
| 18 |
Mary Hardin-Baylor |
80 |
32-11 |
18 |
| 19 |
Birmingham-Southern |
70 |
32-8 |
19 |
| 20 |
Babson |
51 |
38-10 |
23 |
| 21 |
Rochester |
43 |
26-15 |
NR |
| 22 |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute |
29 |
35-17 |
NR |
| 23 |
WashU |
24 |
32-12 |
NR |
| 24 |
Rowan |
22 |
35-10 |
17 |
| 25 |
Piedmont |
20 |
31-11 |
14 |
Others receiving votes: Mount St. Joseph 8, Wisconsin-Eau Claire 7, Hiram 4 and Coe 2.
