Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference softball coaches project a fourth-place finish for the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2020 according to their annual preseason poll, which was released today.

Defending NCAA Division II champion Augustana University was chosen as the team to beat this spring as it garnered 13 first-place votes and 223 points. The Vikings were followed by Winona State University (the remaining three first-place votes and 213 pts.), which captured last year's NSIC regular season title, and Minnesota State University-Mankato (186 pts), while UMD and St. Cloud State shared the No. 4 spot with 180 points. Concordia University-St. Paul (152 points) rounded out the Top 5. 

Fifth-year head coach Jen Walter welcomes back 11 letterwinners, including all but two full-time starters, from a 2019 club that finished 33-22 overall, posted their most conference wins in program history (they were 22-8, good for a third-place tie in the final NSIC standings) and qualified for the NCAA II playoffs for the third time in the past four years. Headlining the list of holdovers are a pair of 2019 All-NSIC second team selections in senior shortstop Lauren Oberle, who batted a career-high .309 (the second highest average among Bulldogs) and senior pitcher Breanna Swint, who went 18-12 with a 2.78 earned run average. Also back from last year's starting cast is junior first baseman Jordyn Thomas (a .321 batting average, a .601 slugging percentage and a .394 on base percentage -- all team highs in 2019), junior second baseman Taylor Koehnen (a member of the 2019 NSIC Gold Glove Team), junior catcher/designated hitter Jessica Bren (who paced UMD with 12 homers), sophomore third baseman Emma Frost, senior outfielders Lauren Greeder and  Jayme Langbehn and senior catcher Hanna Bloch. Sophomore Bre Bresnahan, who was primarily used in pinch hitter/runner roles as a collegiate rookie, adds depth to the Bulldogs' infielder corps while freshman Makenna Burslie (Greenbush-Middle River High School) will do likewise in the outfield. Another freshman, utility player Sidney Zavoral, who transferred to UMD this January after spending fall semester at Eastern Illinois University, also could have an impact during her debut  Bulldog season.

The Bulldogs will launch their 2020 season on with six games at the Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational in Conroe, Texas. That three-day event starts on Jan. 31.