BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Concord University softball team has been picked to finish fifth in the Mountain East Conference South Division Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released Thursday afternoon by the conference office.
THE POLL
| Place |
Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
Charleston (6) |
56 |
| 2. |
Glenville State (4) |
54 |
| 3. |
Davis & Elkins |
40 |
| 4. |
West Virginia Wesleyan (1) |
30 |
| 5. |
Concord |
27 |
| 6. |
West Virginia State |
18 |
2025 REVIEW
Concord finished the year at 23-28 overall, but was 16-14 in the MEC, qualifying for the conference tournament for a second straight season. Senior infielder
Lacie Lewis and junior infielder
Kendall Morgan were two of the three Mountain Lions selected to the All-MEC Second Team along with current CU assistant coach
Courtney Raines.
2026 SCHEDULE
Due to the winter weather in the southeastern United States, this weekend's tournament at Carson-Newman was called off. The Mountain Lions will now open the spring season at the Big Region Tournament in Johnson City, Tennessee February 7-8. Other non-conference tournaments for CU include a four-game schedule at Charleston against Edinboro and Shepherd February 20-21 and the Moyer Crossover Tournament March 14-15 in the Roanoke Valley of Virginia. The home opener for Concord is February 14 against Belmont Abbey. The first MEC doubleheader is in Athens against Charleston March 21. The final weekend of the regular season is April 30-May 1 at West Virginia Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins.
THE RETURNERS
While Lewis and Morgan highlight the returners for the Mountain Lions, CU brings back 76 percent of its offensive production from last season. Morgan hit a team-best .357 with 13 extra-base hits and 23 RBI. Lewis wasn't far off Morgan's average with a mark of .347, but in the power department the Kearneysville, West Virginia native was tied for second in the MEC in home runs (11) and third in RBI (43). Her .611 slugging percentage was top five in the conference. Senior infielder/pitcher
Madison Hollis batted .319 with 27 RBI. The senior outfield tandem of
Alina Giles (20) and
Morgan Gleason (17) combined for 37 RBI. Giles had 17 extra-base hits (12 doubles) while Gleason swiped 16 stolen bases. Freshman pitcher/outfielder
Reghan Hintz (18) and senior utility
Kayla Sholter (11) both finished with double-digit RBI.
Hintz added four wins in the circle as she tossed 53 innings with 35 strikeouts. Hollis paced the pitching staff with an 8-6 record and a 3.39 ERA in 115.2 innings. Before injury cost junior pitcher
Josi Ervin the rest of the season at the end of March, the Lewisburg, West Virginia native had tossed five complete games in 11 starts, including a two-hit shutout at Charleston (March 15). Overall, Ervin won four games.
THE NEWCOMERS
The most notable new face to the program is the return of head coach Alisa Tasler who guided the CU softball team for 10 seasons (2012-21) before coaching at Radford from 2022-24. Tasler racked up 247 wins over 10 seasons, and led the program to the 2015 and 2019 NCAA Tournaments. CU had six 30-win seasons during Tasler's first tenure.
As for the players, Concord has nine new players with seven being freshmen: utility
Brooklyn Blankenship (Daniels, W.Va./Shady Spring), catcher/utility
Grace Dodson (Kearneysville, W.Va./Jefferson), catcher/outfielder
Mykah Gregory (Bluefield, W.Va./Graham), infielder
Nicole Harris (Huntington, W.Va./Cabell Midland), pitcher/infielder
Raegan Lane (Cool Ridge, W.Va./Shady Spring), catcher/infielder
Hannah Niten (High Point, N.C./East Forsyth) and catcher/infielder
Jaelynn Vinaya (Centreville, Va./Westfield). And two more players are new to the program to begin the spring semester: sophomore utility
Ada Cunningham (Caldwell, W.Va./Greenbrier East) and sophomore infielder
Sam VandeVelde (Mazon, Ill./Seneca/Upper Iowa).
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