Florida Southern College softball has been selected to finish eighth in the 2020 Sunshine State Conference preseason coaches poll. The SSC coaches select Rollins College as the preseason number one for the first time since 2015. With 93 points and seven first-place votes in the poll, the Tars are expected to grab the program’s fifth league title since softball became a league sport in 1985.
Defending SSC champions, Florida Tech finished second in the poll with 82 points and three first-place votes. Saint Leo University and the University of Tampa tied for third place with 80 points, but Tampa received the final first-place vote. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University completes the Top-5 with 69 points, while Nova Southeastern University ends up sixth (56 Points), and Palm Beach Atlantic University sits in seventh place (47 points). Rounding out the preseason ranking is Florida Southern College (39 points), Eckerd College (23 points), Lynn University (21 points), and Barry University (15 points).
In 2019, Florida Tech (42-12, 23-7) was crowned SSC champion for the first time in program history and earned automatic qualification into the NCAA postseason. Along with the Panthers, Tampa (34-13, 22-8) and Saint Leo (31-18, 20-10) earned regional bids. Tampa competed in the South Region 1 tournament in Pensacola, where they fell in the final to the University of West Florida. Florida Tech hosted and won the South Region 2 tournament, which also included Saint Leo. The Panthers advanced to Super Regional play where they fell to West Florida in Pensacola.
SSC programs have reached the NCAA finals site 14 times in the conference history. Saint Leo ended a 10-year hiatus for the league their appearance in 2018. In eight finals site visits, Florida Southern claimed the 1993 national championship and finished as runner-up in 1987 and 2004. Barry made four appearances in total and claimed the leagues only other runner-up finish in 1998.
The first pitch of the 2020 season will be delivered on Friday, January 31st, with six teams on the road in Gulf Shores, Alabama & St. Augustine, Florida. League play opens up strong on Valentine’s Day as 10 teams will be competing for their first conference win. South region tournament play begins Thursday, May 7th; Regional hosts are determined following the last week of the season. This year’s NCAA D2 finals will start on Thursday, May at Warner Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Selections and seeding for the 2020 postseason will be announced on Monday, May 4th by the NCAA, here.
The Mocs will open the new season at Chris Bellotto Field with a doubleheader against Ursuline at 5 p.m. Florida Southern will hit the road for five games in three days at the USSSA Sports Complex in Melbourne, Fla. They will open the weekend with a single game on Friday against West Alabama and then take on New Haven and Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday. The weekend will conclude with games against West Florida and Molloy on Sunday. Florida Southern will return to Melbourne the following weekend to open conference play with three games at Florida Tech (Feb. 14-15). March will see the Mocs at home for a total of 17 games on 10 dates. The final month of the regular season will see the Mocs alternate home and away weekends ending the season with a three-game set hosting Palm Beach Atlantic (April 24-25). Head Coach Chris Bellotto is entering her 39th season as the head softball coach at Florida Southern and is returning 11 student-athletes from the roster a season ago. Coach Bellotto has brought in seven new faces to Florida Southern, including Jessica Smith, a transfer from Division-II Queens in North Carolina.
Below are the full results of the 2020 SSC preseason coaches’ poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
| 2020 SSC SOFTBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL | ||
| Rank | School (FPV) | Total Points |
| 1 | Rollins (7) | 93 |
| 2 | Florida Tech (3) | 82 |
| 3 | Saint Leo | 80 |
| 3 | Tampa (1) | 80 |
| 5 | Embry-Riddle | 69 |
| 6 | Nova Southeastern | 56 |
| 7 | Palm Beach Atlantic | 47 |
| 8 | Florida Southern | 39 |
| 9 | Eckerd | 23 |
| 10 | Lynn | 21 |
| 11 | Barry | 15 |
SSC Softball History: National Championships | Conference Champions | All-SSC Teams
| Previous SSC Softball Polls | ||||
| Year | PredictedWinner | ActualFinish | ActualWinner | PredictedFinish |
| 2019 | Saint Leo | T3rd | Florida Tech | 5th |
| 2018: | Saint Leo | 4th | Palm Beach Atlantic | 3rd |
| 2017: | Saint Leo | 1st | Saint Leo | 1st |
| 2016: | Saint Leo | 1st | Saint Leo | 1st |
| 2015: | Rollins | 4th | Tampa | 2nd |
| 2014: | Tampa | 1st | Rollins/Tampa | 3rd / 1st |
| 2013: | Tampa | 2nd | Saint Leo | 7th |
| 2012: | Rollins | 2nd | Tampa | 2nd |
| 2011: | Rollins | 1st | Rollins | 1st |
| 2010: | Nova Southeastern | 2nd | Rollins | 4th |
| 2009: | Barry | 5th | Florida Southern/Rollins | 5th / 4th |
| 2008: | Florida Southern | 6th | Barry | 2nd |
| 2007: | Florida Southern | 1st | Florida Southern | 1st |
| 2006: | Florida Southern | 1st | Florida Southern | 1st |
| 2005: | Florida Southern | 1st | Florida Southern | 1st |
| 2004: | Florida Southern | 1st | Florida Southern | 1st |
| 2003: | Barry | 1st | Barry | 1st |
| 2002: | Florida Southern | 7th | Barry | 1st |
| 2001: | Florida Southern | 5th | Tampa | 4th |