RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Closing in on the start of the 2026 softball season, Southeastern was voted by the league's coaches tied for fifth for the second straight year in the Great American Conference Preseason Poll.
Southern Arkansas was picked to repeat its championship season from a year ago with 119 total points and nine of the 12 first-place votes. Oklahoma Baptist collected two first-place nods in second with 106 votes, while Harding received the final first-place tally in third. Picked just ahead of the Savage Storm was Southern Nazarene in fourth with 88 points, and SE and Arkansas Tech would both garner 79 points to round out the top five.
Head coach
Mackenzie Sher and the Storm return 14 players, including three All-GAC recipients, from last year's 26-27 season. Southeastern finished fifth in the GAC standings with a 17-16 mark and was one of five teams with a winning record in conference play at the end of the year. Among the returners, SE brings back First Team All-GAC
India McMurray and two Second Team All-GAC players in
Iliana Olivares and
Trinity Oden.
McMurray was one of the top bats for the blue and gold in 2025, ranking second in the GAC in home runs (14) and batting in a team-high 37 runs. Olivares paced the team with 62 hits on a .367 batting average and tied the all-time single-season record for doubles with 20. Oden highlights four returning arms in the circle for Southeastern after a freshman season where she led the team with 115 strikeouts and a 3.68 ERA.
Additionally, coach Sher added nine newcomers to the roster in the offseason, including seven freshmen and two transfers:
Riley Kaler from Crowder College and
Keegan Rowland from Tarleton State.
Southeastern opens the year with three invitationals, beginning with the DII First Pitch Invitational in Conroe, Texas, on Jan. 30 – Feb. 1. The Storm will then head to the Alvy Early Memorial Classic on Feb. 6-8 and the Cherokee Nation DII Festival on Feb. 14-15 in Tahlequah. SE's first home game will be its GAC-opener against Henderson State in a three-game series on Feb. 20-21.
2026 GAC Preseason Softball Poll
| Team |
Total Votes |
First-Place Votes |
| Southern Arkansas |
119 |
9 |
| Oklahoma Baptist |
106 |
2 |
| Harding |
103 |
1 |
| Southern Nazarene |
88 |
|
| Arkansas Tech |
79 |
|
| Southeastern |
79 |
|
| Henderson State |
52 |
|
| Southwestern Oklahoma State |
51 |
|
| Arkansas-Monticello |
37 |
|
| Ouachita Baptist |
35 |
|
| East Central |
29 |
|
| Northwestern Oklahoma State |
14 |
|
