TWO ISLANDERS NAMED TO SOUTHLAND TEAMS, PRESEASON POLLS RELEASED

With the softball season right around the corner, the Southland Conference released its preseason All-Conference teams and polls on Monday afternoon. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi placed two representatives on the second team while the Islanders were picked seventh in the coaches poll and ninth in the sports information directors poll.

Sophomore Alaina Byars was named the second team catcher after finishing as a member of the post-season squad last year. Byars finished with six home runs to lead the team while coming in second with 31 RBIs on the season.

The other member of the second team is Cassie Redman, another sophomore who made a big impact during her freshman season. Redman was third on the team with a .306 batting average and led the team with 10 stolen bases. She also had 12 RBIs, a pair of triples and drew 10 walks while playing in multiple spots for the Islanders.

In the coaches' poll, TAMUCC was picked to finish in the seventh position, just out of the final qualifying spot for the Southland Conference tournament. They received 51 points while defending champion Texas State was chosen to repeat, garnering 99 points and 9-of-11 first-place votes.

The SIDs were not as kind to the Islanders, picking them to finish in the ninth spot while receiving just 33 points in the vote total. Texas State was also chosen as the top team with the same vote totals as the coaches' poll.

The Islanders begin their quest to prove the predictors wrong against one of the toughest teams in the country next Thursday when they take on the No. 10 Stanford Cardinal. The game will be on Feb. 11 at 8 PM CST as part of the 2010 Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i. TAMUCC will also play against McNeese State and host-team Hawai'i before ending the final day with bracket play.

2010 Southland Preseason Softball Teams

*2009 All-Conference Selection - Automatic Preseason Selection

2010 Southland Preseason Softball Polls