ATLANTA - Belhaven University has been picked by the Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS) coaches to claim the 2023 Softball Conference Championship this spring as the preseason coaches' poll was released by the league office today. The Blazers received seven of the eight first-place votes they were eligible for from the league's head coaches. 

Belhaven received 63 total points in the voting, including the seven first-place votes. The Blazers won the American Southwest Conference last season and, ultimately, reached the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Under the direction of head coach Kevin Griffin, they ended the 2022 campaign ranked 7th in the NFCA Coaches Poll after spending the majority of the campaign inside the Top 10. Belhaven also earned seven wins over top five teams and 12 wins over those ranked inside the Top 25 a year ago. 

The Blazers return each of their three NFCA All-Americans from a year ago with Kennedy Carruth, Allie Gordon, and Ellie Jones set to play huge roles for Belhaven this spring.

Piedmont finished second in the CCS Coaches' Poll, having received 54 points, incliding one first-place vote. They just edged out Huntingdon in the voting, as the Hawks were tabbed to finish third and received 53 points and the remaining first-place vote. Maryville finished fourth in the voting (39 points), while Covenant was fifth (34 points).

Rounding out the rest of the conference's preseason rankings were: Wesleyan, LaGrange, Berea, and Agnes Scott. 

ABOUT THE COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE OF THE SOUTH
The CCS is an NCAA Division III athletic conference that began play during the 2022-23 academic year. The conference features nine members and sponsors championships across 14 sports. In addition to sharing the member institutions' geographic identity, the name 'Collegiate Conference of the South' is indicative of a shared commitment to academic excellence, which is commensurate with the NCAA Division III philosophy.

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