MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis softball team was picked to finish fifth in the 2017 American Athletic Conference Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll, as selected by the conference's head coaches.
Memphis returns its three top hitters in , , and as well as its top-returning pitcher in . Crowdus, Stickrod, and Trosclair all hit over .300 last season and Smith led the team with a 2.91 ERA in 149.0 innings pitched.
Tulsa, an NCAA Tournament team from a year ago, received four of the seven first-place votes for 34 total points to claim the top honor in the poll.