INDIANAPOLIS – The UIndy softball team topped the 2020 GLVC Preseason Poll, released Wednesday. The league's coaches allotted 219 points and 10 of 16 first-place votes to the Greyhounds, placing them atop the annual ballot.
 
The Hounds edged Missouri-St. Louis for the No. 1 spot, as the Tritons picked up five first-place nods and 210 points. The two rivals finished the 2019 conference slate at matching 20-6 marks to share the GLVC regular season title. UMSL went on to edge UIndy in the conference tournament championship game, 1-0, in an instance classic.

Rounding out the top five were Southern Indiana (196 pts), Illinois Springfield (170) – which garnered the final first-place vote – and Maryville (158). See below for the complete poll.

Five-time GLVC Coach of the Year Melissa Frost returns seven all-conference players from last year's roster, including a pair of all-region pitchers in Lauren Honkomp and Hallie Waters. 2019 All-GLVC First Team honoree Gianni Iannantone also returns to the fold; the junior slugger paced the Hounds in OPS, home runs and RBIs in last season, with her total of 61 ribbies good for No. 1 in the league and 16th in Division II.

Finishing one win shy of a 50-win campaign, Frost's 2019 club extended its season into mid-May, earning the program's fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA DII Super Regional. The postseason berth upped the Greyhounds' NCAA Tournament streak to 12 years – longest active streak in the Midwest.

Ranked 12th in the national coaches poll, UIndy kicks off the season in just nine days, with opening day slated for Friday, Feb. 9. The Hounds will take on out-of-region Lenior Rhyne, the first of five opponents in a three-day span at the Lee University Invitational in Chattanooga, Tenn.


2020 GLVC PRESEASON COACHES POLL

RK	SCHOOL (1st-place votes)	PTS
1.	UIndy (10)	219
2.	Missouri-St. Louis (5)	210
3.	Southern Indiana	196
4.	Illinois Springfield (1)	170
5.	Maryville	158
6.	Truman	147
7.	Drury	145
8.	Lindenwood	128
9.	William Jewell	95
10.	Lewis	90
11.	Bellarmine	88
12.	Quincy	80
13.	Rockhurst	68
14.	Missouri S&T	55
15.	McKendree	49
16.	Southwest Baptist	22