BYU voted to finish first in WCC preseason poll

PROVO, Utah – BYU softball was voted to finish first and four players were recognized in the West Coast Conference preseason poll released on Wednesday.

After winning two-consecutive WCC championships, the Cougars were picked in the preseason to repeat for a third time. BYU received five first-place votes to put them at the top, while Pacific and Loyola Marymount were voted to finish in second and third, respectively.

In the 2016 All-WCC Preseason Softball Team, BYU had four players recognized: Gordy Bravo, Ashley Thompson, Coco Tauali’i Bond and McKenna Bull. These four players also received WCC postseason honors in the 2015 season.

Senior midfielder Bravo is the reigning WCC Player of the Year after hitting .444 with four home runs, two triples, nine doubles, 76 hits and 30 RBI, notching the second best single-season average in school history. She started all 54 games of the 2015 season.

Junior Bull was last season’s WCC Pitcher of the Year. She was also on the NFCA All-Pacific Region Third Team and named College Sports Madness’ Pitcher of the Year as well. In 2015, Bull set the BYU single-season record for wins (34), strikeouts (256), innings pitched (257.1) and complete games (29). She led the WCC in strikeouts (64), ERA (1.55) and wins with an 11-0 record in WCC play.

Junior first baseman Thompson was named to the 2015 All-WCC First Team and senior third baseman Bond was on the second team. Thompson ranked in the top five in WCC play in seven categories: OBP (.500), runs scored (15), runs batted in (19), home runs (4), total bases (31) and stolen bases (4). Bond was first in the WCC with six home runs, 15 runs batted in and a .763 slugging percentage in conference play.

BYU’s season starts a week from Thursday in Tempe, Ariz., against San Jose State in the Kajikawa Classic.