NORFOLK, Va. – After advancing to its first MEAC Championship Game last season, Coppin State's softball team was picked to finish fifth in the MEAC Preseason Poll, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday morning. Additionally,
Vanessa Carrizosa and
Celeste Gonzales were named to the Preseason All-Conference Second Team.
Morgan State received ten of 16 first-place votes and are the preseason favorites, followed by defending champions NC Central with five first-place votes and Howard. Ranked just ahead of the Eagles is Norfolk State in fourth with Coppin in fifth, Maryland Eastern Shore sixth, South Carolina State and Delaware State.
Carrizosa is a three-time All-MEAC selection, earning Third Team All-Conference and All-Tournament Team accolades last season. A senior pitcher from Moreno Valley, Calif., Carrizosa threw every game, and all but one inning of the MEAC Tournament where she went 4-2 with 19 strikeouts to just four walks in 38.0 innings while tallying a 2.57 ERA and five complete games. She finished the season 15-14 with a 3.16 earned run average while striking out 71 batters in 179.2 innings. Carrizosa ended the season first in the league in wins and innings pitched, fifth in ERA and eighth in strikeouts.
In her three seasons with the Eagles, Carrizosa ranks fourth in school-history with 19 wins while ranking fifth in ERA (4.56), inning pitched (374.1) and appearances (75), and sixth in strikeouts (171).
Gonzales started in all 44 games in centerfield as a freshman in 2023, hitting .241 while leading the team in runs (25), triples (3), extra-base hits (12) and stolen bases (14-of-15). A sophomore from Moreno Valley, Calif., Gonzales hit .318 in the MEAC Tournament while leading the tournament in doubles (2) and stolen bases (4) while scoring four runs and four RBI.
Coppin is now under the direction of head coach Mercedes Hargett and the Eagles open the season at NSU/Hampton's Battle at the Bay on February 16-17. CSU takes on Bryant and Hampton on Friday afternoon followed by Wagner and Hampton on Saturday.
