CLEVELAND, Ohio - - The Ball State softball program has been selected as the favorite to win both the 2019 Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament championships as voted on by the league's head coaches in the annual preseason poll.
With the MAC eliminating the divisional format for the 2019 softball season, the Cardinals garnered 105 points and six of the 10 first-place votes to win the regular season title. Kent State was second with 93 points and two first-place votes, followed by defending regular season and tournament champion Ohio at 80 points and one first-place vote.
Led by fourth-year head coach Megan Ciolli Bartlett, the Ball State softball program returns nearly all its key components from last season's team which finished the year with a 37-19 overall record and won the MAC West Division Championship with a 16-7 league mark.