CLEVELAND, Ohio - - The Ball State softball program was picked to finish third in the 11-team Mid-American Conference regular season race as voted on by the league's head coaches in the 2021 MAC Preseason Poll.
The Cardinals, who earned 88 total points and picked up one first-place vote, trailed only Kent State (106 points / 7 first-place votes) and Miami (84 points / 2 first-place votes) in the voting.
New for this season, the MAC's regular season champion will earn the league's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Regionals.
Rounding out the regular season poll were Ohio (76 points), Central Michigan (66), Northern Illinois (60), Toledo (51), Bowling Green (50), Western Michigan (36), Buffalo (19) and Akron (13).