NAPERVILLE – Seventeen-time College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) softball champion Illinois Wesleyan is the top team in a 2024 preseason poll conducted by league head coaches, the conference office announced Monday morning.
2024 CCIW Preseason Softball Coaches' Poll
| Team (First-place votes) |
Points |
| 1. Illinois Wesleyan (4) |
59 |
| 2. Millikin (3) |
58 |
| 3. Augustana (2) |
54 |
| 4. North Park |
39 |
| 5. Carthage |
32 |
| 6. North Central |
26 |
| 7. Carroll |
23 |
| 8. Elmhurst |
20 |
| 9. Wheaton |
13 |
The Titans had 59 points in the poll thanks to four first-place votes. Millikin, which won the 2023 CCIW Tournament and shared the regular-season crown with the Titans last spring, received three first-place votes for 58 points and the second spot in the poll. Augustana also collected two first-place votes to slot third in the preseason ballot with 54 points.
IWU will aim for consecutive CCIW championships for the first time since going back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. Eighth-season head coach Tiffany Prager and her staff were named CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year for the second time last season.
Millikin will try to become the first team in league history to win at least a share of four straight CCIW regular-season titles. Last May, the Big Blue won their second CCIW Tournament championship in the last three seasons.
Augustana, which won two CCIW Tournament games a year ago, finished in a tie for third place in the CCIW regular-season standings last season. The Vikings are seeking their first CCIW championship since 2006.
In fourth spot in Monday’s announcement with 39 points was North Park, which won a program-record nine CCIW games last season and finished in the top half of the conference standings for the first time ever. NPU also won its quarterfinal game at the 2023 CCIW Tournament, the Vikings’ first-ever conference tournament victory.
Carthage was fifth in the preseason poll with 32 points, followed by North Central in sixth (26 points). The final three spots went to Carroll (23 points), Elmhurst (20 points) and Wheaton (13 points).
Illinois Wesleyan leads off the 2024 schedule with a four-game weekend series at WashU beginning Saturday, Feb. 17. The first conference games are scheduled for Wednesday, March 20 when North Central visits Augustana for a doubleheader.
The six-team CCIW Tournament will begin Thursday, May 9 at the site of the regular-season conference winner.
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).