NAPERVILLE – Just one day after appearing in the NFCA preseason national rankings, Millikin is the coaches’ vote to win the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) softball race in 2023. Millikin, coming off back-to-back regular-season conference championships, garnered seven first-place votes in the poll.

2023 Preseason CCIW Softball Coaches' Poll

Team (First-place votes)	Points
1. Millikin (7)	63
2. Illinois Wesleyan (2)	58
3. North Central	49
4. Carroll	41
5. Carthage	37
6. Wheaton	25
T7. Augustana	19
T7. North Park	19
9. Elmhurst	13

The poll, conducted last week by league head coaches, gave the Big Blue 63 points. Millikin won 37 games last season before sweeping through the NCAA Regional and Super-Regional to advance to the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history.
 
Illinois Wesleyan won the 2022 CCIW Tournament and went to the NCAA Tournament last spring. The Titans received the two remaining first-place votes and tallied 58 points for second place in Wednesday’s poll.
 
North Central, which ousted Millikin to advance to the final of last spring’s CCIW Tournament and ultimately secured an at-large bid to the national postseason, was picked third with 49 points. Carroll followed in fourth position with 41 points and Carthage was fifth with 37 points.
 
Wheaton was sixth on the coaches’ ballots with 25 points, followed by a seventh-place tie between Augustana and North Park at 19 points. Elmhurst was ninth.
 
Augustana is scheduled to kick off the 2023 season with a Feb. 19 doubleheader against Culver-Stockton. The league slate begins on March 30 when Wheaton travels to North Park for a doubleheader. The CCIW Tournament opens Thursday, May 11.