ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom released its preseason coaches' poll for the 2026 season Tuesday with the Stevens Institute of Technology softball team earning 35 points, good for third place in the poll conducted among the conference's eight head coaches.
Last season's MAC Freedom Tournament finalists, Lebanon Valley and Misericordia, took the top two spots and collected all eight first place votes between them. The Ducks were five points back of Misericordia and eight points clear of fourth-place DeSales, who were in turn three points clear of fifth-place Delaware Valley.
The entire poll was as follows:
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
1st Place Votes |
| 1 |
Lebanon Valley |
48 |
6 |
| 2 |
Misericordia |
40 |
2 |
| 3 |
STEVENS |
35 |
|
| 4 |
DeSales |
27 |
|
| 5 |
Delaware Valley |
24 |
|
| 6 |
Arcadia |
22 |
|
| 7 |
FDU-Florham |
21 |
|
| 8 |
King's |
7 |
|
Stevens went 20-22 last season with a 9-5 mark in conference play, putting six on the all-conference team, three of whom return this season.
Allison Mitloff was the conference co-Rookie of the Year after a sensational first season in which she hit a conference-best .477 (also a program record for a first-year). In MAC Freedom play, Mitloff hit safely in all 12 games in which she played, finishing with an astounding .568 average and an OPS over 1.250.
Fellow all-conference selection
Kyra Fischer returns after a 10-win, 17-complete game, 76-strikeout 2025 campaign (all career-highs). The Mount Laurel, N.J. native struck out at least five batters in six starts and had four outings of at least five innings without allowing an earned run.
Another all-conference selection,
Jessica Hsu showed plenty of promise across the board in her first collegiate season. In the circle, Hsu finished the year with the 11
th-best ERA (2.94) and 6
th-best batting average against (.263) in the conference. At the plate, Hsu hit .327 while striking out just five times in 101 at-bats.
Other noteworthy Ducks returning this season include
Emma Quattrochi (.320 AVG, 18 steals in 19 attempts) and
Carmelita Murphy-Brown (.294 AVG in 51 at-bats, .419 on-base percentage).
#AllRise
