COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs softball team has been selected sixth in the 2025 RMAC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll with 68 points, as announced by the conference office on Thursday afternoon.
 
Colorado Mesa University garnered eight first place votes and was voted as the conference's preseason favorite with 117 points after winning 46 games last season and making an appearance in the NCAA South Central Regional Championship game. Colorado Christian University (2), Metropolitan State University Denver (1), and Regis University (1) collected the final four first place votes and rounded out the top four in the poll with 107, 106, and 90 points, respectively.
 
The preseason poll was voted on by each of the conference's 12 head coaches. Coaches could not vote for their own team.
 
Under the leadership of second-year head coach Dwight Sanders, UCCS is set to return 14 players from last year's squad that earned an eighth-place finish in the conference with a 19-32 overall record and 16-26 RMAC record. Sanders will also welcome 11 newcomers to the program for the 2025 season, including nine freshman and two transfers.
 
Second-year player Gianna Pancost received recognition as an RMAC Player to Watch for the upcoming campaign after composing an impressive debut performance last season. In 41 games played during her freshman season, the native of Tucson, Ariz., quickly emerged as a key member of the Mountain Lion lineup as she paced the team in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (.394), on-base percentage (.470), slugging percentage (.578), doubles (13), runs batted in (28), and total bases (63). The sophomore utility player also excelled on the defensive end for UCCS in her freshman season as she posted a solid .956 fielding percentage with just four errors in 90 total chances while starting 35 games at third base and four games behind the dish.
 
The Mountain Lions are set to open their 2025 schedule with a pair of non-conference tournaments as they will head to Los Lunas, N.M. for the South Central Regional Crossover on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 before making their way to Canyon, Texas for the West Texas A&M Invitational on Feb. 7-8. Following their eight-game non-conference schedule, UCCS will kick off their RMAC slate at home on Feb. 15-16 with a four-game home series against Colorado School of Mines.
 
2025 RMAC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Institution (First-Place Votes)	Points
1. Colorado Mesa (8)	117
2. Colorado Christian (2)	107
3. MSU Denver (1)	106
4. Regis (1)	90
5. CSU Pueblo	80
6. UCCS	68
7. Colorado School of Mines	64
8. Fort Lewis	54
9. Black Hills State	33
10. Chadron State	30
11. New Mexico Highlands	22
12. Adams State	21

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