RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – On Wednesday, the Great American Conference released the results of the 2026 softball coaches poll. Southern Arkansas collected nine first-place votes to enter the season as the preseason favorite.
Last year, the Muleriders won both the regular-season and the GAC Championship titles. They earned their ninth-straight NCAA Tournament bid. They must replace Brinson Rogers, the consensus Division II Pitcher of the Year. She went 30-5 with 309 strikeouts. They return three All-GAC selections in Regan Dillon, Kassie Rhodes and America Rubio. Dillon hit 12 home runs with a .500 on-base percentage. Rhodes went 8-2 with a 2.35 ERA. Rubio hit .299 with six home runs.
Oklahoma Baptist received two first-place votes and claimed second. In his first season as head coach, Jace Brewer led the Bison to a 36-17 mark and they reached the final of the GAC Championships. While they lose GAC Player of the Year Sammie Greene, he brings back two First-Team All-GAC honorees - pitcher Jaycee Shaffer and shortstop Greenlee Wells. Wells led the league with 15 home runs. She drove in 52 RBI. Shaffer won 19 games and posted a 2.40 ERA. She struck out 158 batters. Kaley Cook also returns after she went 42-for-43 on stolen bases. Her eight triples and 45 runs led the league.
Harding picked up the last remaining first-place vote. The Lady Bisons finished third in the poll. Last year they secured their third NCAA Tournament appearance. They return 2025 GAC Newcomer of the Year Zoey Neal and GAC Freshman of the Year Brooklyn Gobble. Neal hit .408 and drove in a league-leading 62 runs. Gobble went 17-8 with 175 strikeouts in 170.0 innings. She added four saves. Avery Booker, who won nine games, and Emaline Pearson, who hit .345, also return.
Southern Nazarene took fourth. Kristen Mullendore, who hit .395 with a .450 on-base percentage and a .510 slugging percentage returns, so too does Kelsi Hilton, who hit .302 as a freshman and won four games with a 3.54 ERA in 12 appearances.
Arkansas Tech and Southeastern Oklahoma State tied for fifth. The Golden Suns’ Aly White won seven games with a 2.54 ERA and Caroline Wilhelm returns after collecting a team-high 36 RBI. The Savage Storm return three All-GAC performers in India McMurray, Trinity Oden and Iliana Olivares. McMurray’s 14 home runs ranked second in the conference. Oden struck out 115 batters against just 23 walks in 102.2 innings pitched. Olivares led the GAC with 20 doubles.
Henderson State edged out Southwestern Oklahoma State by one point for seventh. The Reddies’ Hilary Akers, who ranked in the top six in doubles, hits, runs and RBI returns, as does Josie Copeland, who hit .381 with a .450 on-base percentage.
A season ago, the Bulldogs earned their first trip to the GAC Championships since 2019. They have a new head coach in former Savage Storm standout Cheyenne Mahy. She won the league’s Newcomer of the Year honor and 2021 and earned All-Tournament honors after helping the Savage Storm win the 2023 GAC Championship title. Her first squad features two 2025 All-GAC selections in Alexis Taylor and Taylor McMahon. Taylor won 14 games and McMahon hit .281.
Arkansas-Monticello finished ninth, followed by Ouachita Baptist. The Tigers bring back pitcher Catie Amador and outfielder Emily Reed. Amador won 13 games while Reed ranked sixth in the conference with 11 home runs.
East Central and Northwestern Oklahoma State rounded out the poll. The Tigers and Rangers each feature new head coaches. ECU hired alum Autumn Wyatt. She played for the Tigers from 2013-2016, including their 2015 GAC Championship team, where she twice earned All-Region honors. The Rangers also named an alum in Efrain Barraza. He served as an assistant coach in 2022. He played on the Northwestern baseball team from 2003-2005.
The regular season begins on Friday, January 30. Five schools - East Central, Harding, Oklahoma Baptist, Southern Arkansas and Southern Nazarene - head to Texas for the Lone Star Classic. Arkansas Tech, Arkansas-Monticello and Northwestern Oklahoma State travel to Missouri for the Branson Leadoff Classic. Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist host Missouri S&T and Christian Brothers in two doubleheaders. Southeastern Oklahoma State partakes in the DII First Pitch Invitational. SWOSU plays in the South Central Regional Tournament.
The 2026 GAC Championships will feature the top eight teams in a single-elimination format from Thursday, May 7 through Saturday, May 9. For the 14th-straight year, the event will take place in Bentonville, Arkansas.