By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State Softball was slotted 10th in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll released on Thursday (Jan. 30). The Tigers are picked in the position they finished in the conference standings last year. Fort Hays State went 28-25 overall in 2024 and won its opening round game in the MIAA Tournament before seeing their season end in the quarterfinals.
Rogers State, the 2024 MIAA regular season co-champion, was picked first in the poll. The Hillcats won the 2024 MIAA Tournament title by defeating Pittsburg State, which shared the regular season conference title with them. Central Oklahoma was picked second in the poll, Pittsburg State was third, and Washburn was fourth. The top four picks in the poll all finished with at least 38 wins last year, which included a pair of 40+ win teams and one 50+ win team.
The top 10 teams in conference regular season play will make the MIAA Softball Championship Tournament again this season, a format that began last year. It is the same single-elimination 10-team format used for the MIAA Basketball Championship Tournament. Fort Hays State has already been pre-selected as the host of the MIAA Tournament this year, which begins at the end of April and carries over into May. It will be the first time ever that Fleharty Family Field plays host to a conference tournament. Fort Hays State has qualified for the MIAA Tournament three of the last four years.
Fort Hays State returns its top two pitchers from last year, seniors Savanah Egger and Morgan Schmidt. They combined for 23 wins, 32 complete games, seven individual shutouts, and 247 strikeouts. They threw 285.2 of the team’s 344.2 innings of work in 2024. The Tigers also have several newcomers at pitcher this year looking to make their mark to complement Egger and Schmidt.
The Tigers will have several new faces looking to make their mark in the batting lineup this year. The Tigers lost four of their regular starters from last year and another is out with injury to begin the year. Position players returning who saw at least 20 games of action last year include Peyton Shepard, Lilliana Ramirez-Johnson, Madison Pierce, Regan Curry, Audrey Gillespie, Emily Mayer, and Lexi Mohr.
The Tigers enter their 11th season under head coach Adrian Pilkington, who enters the year with 221 wins at FHSU. She has the most wins of any coach in program history.
Fort Hays State will open its season in Wichita Falls, Texas for the third-straight year, slated for February 7-8. The first home doubleheader is set for Wednesday, February 12 when Bethany College comes to Hays. The Tigers have 19 non-conference games scheduled in February before opening MIAA play in March.
The 2025 MIAA Coaches Preseason Softball Poll is listed below.
2025 MIAA SOFTBALL PRESEASON POLL
1. Rogers State [7] – 139 points
2. Central Oklahoma [6] – 137 points
3. Pittsburg State – 120 points
4. Washburn – 111 points
5. Missouri Southern – 85 points
6. Missouri Western – 83 points
7. Northwest Missouri – 79 points
8. Emporia State – 71 points
9. Central Missouri – 69 points
10. Fort Hays State – 48 points
11. Nebraska Kearney – 32 points
12. Newman – 26 points
13. Northeastern State – 14 points
[#] – First Place Votes