The American Rivers Conference Softball Preseason Coaches Poll has been released, with Central College picked to finish in 4th, with Simpson picked to finish 8th. The Dutch are coming off of a 20-14 season with a 15-9 conference record ending in third place, with the season coming to an unexpected end falling to 6th-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan twice in the conference tournament.

The Storm are coming off a fifth-place finish in last year’s standings after going 16-18 overall and 13-11 in the league. Simpson won eight of its last 10 contests to close the regular season and earned entry into the conference tournament, where they dropped consecutive games to 4th seeded Luther and 1-seed Coe to end the season.
Coe and Wartburg were picked to finish in first place.