Wayne State is picked to finish sixth in the 2017 NSIC preseason softball coaches poll, with sophomore Emily Chandler and junior Nataliah Hopkins listed as Wildcats to Watch in the NSIC this season.
Defending NSIC champion Minnesota State was the unanimous pick as the team to beat in the Northern Sun Conference this season, receiving 15 first-place votes from league coaches (coaches cannot vote for their own team). Minnesota Duluth was second and received the remaining first-place vote. Winona State, Augustana and Sioux Falls are ahead of Wayne State, followed by Upper Iowa, Bemidji State, Northern State and Southwest Minnesota State rounding out the top 10.
Chandler, a 5-foot-9 outfielder from Simi Valley, Calif., was a first-team All-NSIC selection for Wayne State last season after setting single-season school records for RBI (53) and total bases (119). She ranked second in the NSIC in on-base percentage (.503) and slugging percentage (.744), third in batting average (.444) and total bases, fourth in RBI, and tied for seventh in home runs (11). Chandler also ranked second on the team with 23 multi-hit games and led the team in multi-RBI games with 15.
Hopkins, a 5-foot-8 junior pitcher from Ottumwa, Iowa, will lead the Wildcats in the circle. She comes to Wayne State after spending the previous two seasons at Indian Hills Community College. Hopkins helped the Warriors to back-to-back Iowa Community Athletic Conference and Region 11 titles and a trip to the NJCCA Division I National Tournament. As a sophomore, she posted a 20-7 record with two saves and a 3.17 ERA and also helped Indian Hills to a 41-17 record in her final year, marking the most wins for the school since the 2007 season. Hopkins notched an 11-4 record and 2.73 ERA with 58 strikeouts as a freshman.
The Wildcats finished the 2016 season with a record of 27-26 overall, the 10th straight winning season for the Wildcats. Wayne State was fifth in the Northern Sun Conference with a 21-9 league mark.
The Wildcats open the 2017 season on Friday, Feb. 17 at the Arkansas Monticello Tournament in Bentonville, Ark.
