ST LOUIS -- For the first time in program history, UNI softball was selected as the Missouri Valley Conference preseason favorite in back-to-back years.
Northern Iowa picked up nine first-place votes from MVC league coaches to nab the top spot in the preseason poll. The Panthers received 140 points in the poll, putting them ahead of Valley newcomers Murray State at 126 points. The Racers were one of three other teams that received a first-place vote but the only team in the Top Five in the coaches poll.
This is the first time UNI has been picked as back-to-back preseason favorites since the Panthers joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 1993.