NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Loyola has been selected to finish eighth in its inaugural season in the Atlantic 10 Conference, according to the preseason poll conducted by the league's 10 head coaches.
Loyola received 42 points in the poll, finishing five points behind George Mason in seventh and seven points behind UMass for sixth. The Ramblers are coming off a 17-30 (10-17 MVC) season in which they captured an opening-round victory at the Missouri Valley Championship. Fourth-year head coach
Alicia Abbott's squad features a ton of experience, led by all-conference performers
Peyton Pepkowski and
Madison Ebeling, the Ramblers have 14 returners, including seven starters, along with the addition of four newcomers.
Loyola's challenging spring slate features matchups against six NCAA Tournament qualifiers from a year ago. Gearing up for Opening Day next week at Florida Atlantic's Paradise Classic, the Ramblers will travel to eight different states including Florida, Texas and California while playing nine first-time opponents this season.
The A-10 Softball Championship, featuring the top six teams, will be hosted May 10-13 at Bahoshy Softball Complex in Bronx, N.Y.
Fordham, last year's A-10 Championship winner, was picked first in the preseason poll with 95 points and six first-place votes. Saint Joseph's was tabbed second (77) with last year's regular season champion George Washington picked third (74). Dayton (70) and Saint Louis (62) round out the top five teams, followed by UMass (49), George Mason (47), Loyola (42), Rhode Island (23) and St. Bonaventure (11).
Saint Joe's, George Washington, Dayton and George Mason each collected a first-place vote.
2023 A-10 Softball Preseason Poll
| Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1 |
Fordham (6) |
95 |
| 2 |
Saint Joseph's (1) |
77 |
| 3 |
George Washington (1) |
74 |
| 4 |
Dayton (1) |
70 |
| 5 |
Saint Louis |
62 |
| 6 |
Massachusetts |
49 |
| 7 |
George Mason (1) |
47 |
| 8 |
Loyola Chicago |
42 |
| 9 |
Rhode Island |
23 |
| 10 |
St. Bonaventure |
11 |
