(Editor's note: Cascade Collegiate Conference media release)
CORVALLIS, Ore. – After last season got put on hold, the Cascade Collegiate Conference softball teams have unfinished business to tend to this year.
For the fifth time in a row, Southern Oregon University was picked to win the conference championship. The Raiders finished the 2020 season ranked No. 1 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, putting a stop in the season.
Oregon Tech sits behind SOU in the No. 2 spot with 88 points. The Owls were riding a four-game winning streak before their season was cut short.
Corban University picked up 80 points for the third spot on the poll and finished the year with a No. 24 ranking. College of Idaho is just three points behind the Warriors, sitting in fourth with 77 points.
Carroll College rounds out the top-five with 64 points, while Warner Pacific University and Eastern Oregon University are neck-and-neck with 48 and 47 points, respectively. WPU is looking to complete its first full season of competition after introducing the sport last year.
University of British Columbia grabbed 38 points in the poll, though the Thunderbirds were forced to opt out of playing in the 2021 season by COVID-19, provincial regulations and the continued closed border between Canada and the United States.
Bushnell University received 24 points, while Northwest University and University of Providence rounded out the poll with 23 and 16 points, respectively.
The CCC softball season is slated to start in March with 10 teams competing. The revised schedule can be found here.
2021 CCC Softball Coaches’ Preseason Poll
1. Southern Oregon 100
2. Oregon Tech 88
3. Corban 80
4. College of Idaho 77
5. Carroll 64
6. Warner Pacific 48
7. Eastern Oregon 47
8. UBC 38
9. Bushnell 24
10. Northwest University 23
11. Providence 16
