DALLAS – Charlotte has been voted by the league’s head coaches as the preseason favorite to win the 2021-22 Conference USA regular season softball championship, the league announced Tuesday. Additionally, Bailey Vannoy, a senior catcher and outfielder for Charlotte was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year, while fifth-year right-hander, Shelby Nunn, out of WKU, was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Sixteen student-athletes were also named to the preseason all-conference team.

Vannoy, last season’s Conference USA Player of the Year, started in all 50 games and finished with 63 hits, 13 home runs, 36 RBIs and a .767 slugging percentage. Joining the senior on the preseason All-Conference Team are her teammates Cori Henderson and Kortney Gremillion. Henderson, a junior infielder, started at shortstop in all 50 games, making the C-USA All-Freshman Team and earned three home runs, 17 RBIs and 65 total bases. Gremillion, a graduate student playing infielder for the 49ers, grabbed 43 RBI’s and a .515 slugging percentage last season.
Nunn is receiving a second bat at preseason honors after making last year’s team.  The fifth-year pitcher was on the 2021 C-USA All-Tournament Team while starting in 13 of 29 games where she had 64 strikeouts, a 2.39 ERA and pitched a team-high 102.2 innings. Fellow Hilltoppers recognized on the preseason team, included senior outfielder Taylor Davis and fifth-year infielder Maddie Bowlds. Davis started 44 of last season’s games with 42 hits, scoring 20 runs, and tallied a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Bowlds made 45 starts at first base with 10 RBI with a .338 slugging percentage.

UAB’s Sierra Frazier, a junior catcher, comes to the list as after leading the Blazers with a .371 batting average, 33 runs, including nine home runs, a 33-game on-base streak and 11 multi-hit games. Marshall’s Aly Harrell, a fifth-year senior, joins the list after finishing last season ranked in the Herd’s top 10 all-time in 11 offensive and three defensive categories, including tying the record for best strikeout rate of .32 with three strikeouts in 94 at bats. She was also named last season’s C-USA Preseason Player of the Year. Other Herd members included Saige Pye and Mya Stevenson. Pye, a fifth-year infielder, has earned the DP/Utility spot on the preseason team for the last two seasons, joined Harrell on the 2021 NFCA Mideast All-Region team, while starting all 25 games. She finished second on the team batting with a .395, scored 14 runs and had 23 RBIs. Stevenson, a senior utility player, rounds out Marshall’s list, as she finished the 2021 season on the All-Conference USA Second Team and tied with Harrell for second all-time at Marshall in home runs (40).

North Texas, Southern Miss and Middle Tennessee each added a pair to the preseason honorees. Mean Green left-handed pitcher, Janie Worthington, finished her freshman season with nine starts in the circle and a 9-1 record, while holding opponents to a .166 batting average. Tayla Evans, a senior infielder for North Texas, made 49 starts between first and third base with 39 hits, nine home runs and a .600 slugging percentage. Tata Davis, a graduate student playing infield for Southern Miss, was a part of the 2021 C-USA All-Conference First Team and lead the team with 57 hits and a .324 batting average. Destini Brown, joined her Golden Eagles’ teammate in the outfield, also earning All-Conference First Team honors as well as leading the conference with 35 stolen bases and finished the year with the most runs (43) and triples (3) of any Golden Eagle. Finally, the Blue Raiders saw Corrina Dodd and Kelci Hill get recognized on the preseason list. Dodd, a senior pitcher, led the Raiders with 58 strikeouts which earned her second on the team in ERA (2.64), wins (8-4) and appearances (22). Hill, a junior outfielder, ended last season in the sixth spot in the Blue Raiders’ record book for batting average (.361) and tied at seventh for triples.

The 2022 Conference USA season begins Thursday, February 10. The 2022 C-USA Softball Championship will be May 11-14 in Denton, Texas.
 
2022 PRESEASON SOFTBALL AWARDS
(as selected by C-USA’s head coaches)
 
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH       

1. Charlotte 
2. North Texas
3. WKU 
4. UAB
5. Marshall
6. Middle Tennessee
7. LA Tech
8. FIU
9. Southern Miss
10. UTSA
11. UTEP
12. Florida Atlantic

PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Bailey Vannoy, Charlotte (SR., Catcher/Outfielder)
 
PRESEASON PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Shelby Nunn, WKU (Fifth Year SR., RHP)
 
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Pitcher: Janie Worthington, North Texas
Pitcher: Corrina Dodd, Middle Tennessee
Pitcher: Shelby Nunn, WKU
Catcher: Sierra Frazier, UAB
Catcher: Bailey Vannoy, Charlotte
Infielder: Aly Harrell, Marshall
Infielder: Tata Davis, Southern Miss
Infielder: Cori Henderson Charlotte
Infielder: Tayla Evans, North Texas
Infielder: Maddie Bowlds, WKU
Infielder: Kourtney Gremillion, Charlotte*
Outfielder: Destini Brown, Southern Miss
Outfielder: Mya Stevenson, Marshall
Outfielder: Taylor Davis, WKU
Outfielder: Kelci Hill, Middle Tennessee
DP/Utility: Saige Pye, Marshall
(*16 Total- sixth infielder due to a tie in votes)