The University of Redlands Bulldogs are predicted to win the conference regular season crown after back-to-back years with tri-champions according to the 2025 SCIAC Softball Preseason Poll, as voted by the league’s coaches.
Redlands will enter the 2025 season looking to for a share of a fourth consecutive regular season title and fourth SCIAC Tournament championship in five seasons. Having shared the trophy with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges and Chapman University each of the past two seasons,the Bulldogs, will lean on two-way star
Katlyn Gandara. The junior pitched to a 2.88 ERA and 17 wins in 136 innings to pair with a .488/.667/.534 triple slash line at the plate, earning SCIAC Athlete of the Year and NFCA All-America honors in 2024. Gandara will have one other All-Conference teammate returning in outfielder
Paige Messenlehner, whose 41 runs scored were good for second in the conference, as well as being the only player in the SCIAC to start 48 games through the NCAA Championship in 2024, both of whom helped the Bulldogs as a team lead the conference in batting average, runs, hits, triples, runs batted in, and total bases, all en route to a by-far conference-best +116 run differential.
Projected to take silver are the Chapman Panthers, who have won their only two SCIAC regular season crowns ever the last two seasons and their first Tournament title three seasons ago. The Panthers will look to senior first baseman
Jordan Westerfield, who was top-five in the conference in batting average, hits, doubles and total bases. Chapman led the SCIAC with five All-Conference players in 2024 and will return each and every one in 2025. The Panthers will have junior All-SCIAC First Team right-hander
Rose Malen and Second Team lefty
Jillian Kelly, who ranking top-three in the conference with ERAs of 2.16 and 2.46, respectively. At the plate, Chapman brings back senior centerfielder
Miranda Murphy, an on-base machine who led the SCIAC with 28 walks and a second-best 1.120 OPS, paired with senior third baseman
Iliana Serna, who had a second-ranked 30 RBI last season.
Rounding out the top three and the second team hoping to three-peat are the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Athenas. CMS has had considerable postseason tournament success, tying with Redlands for the SCIAC lead with five titles in the 16 years of the tournament's existence, to go with eight regular-season titles. The Athenas tied Chapman with five All-Conference selections, including four on the First Team, and will return three for the 2025 season along with new head coach
Skania Valencia. Junior third baseman
Rachel Sapirstein, sophomore centerfielder
Giselle Lai, and second baseman/right fielder
Emma Suh. The former’s .455 batting average was good for the second-best qualified average in the conference last season. Lai slashed .400/.618/.468 with a 1.086 OPS, 44 hits, 27 RBI and 15 walks, ranking among the top-10 in each, along with a conference leading six triples en route to being named 2024 SCIAC Newcomer of the Year.
Coming in right behind the Athenas are the California Lutheran University Regals, whose 2024 postseason berth snapped a drought dating back to 2015. First year Head Coach
Kecia Davis will look to carry that momentum into the 2025 season and bring CLU its first regular season title since 2003 counting primarily on returning SCIAC Pitcher of the Year
Ashlyn Flinchum, who boasted a 2.50 ERA while holding hitters to a .242 average and striking out a SCIAC-leading 98 batters, with 39 of them looking. Behind the plate, the Regals will return sophomore first baseman
Jessica Waters, whose eight home runs as a first-year led the SCIAC, as well as junior outfielder
Nadia Collins, who tallied 11 stolen bases and a .351 average last season.
Just four points outside of the postseason picture are the Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Sagehens. Battery mates
Kylie Liu and
Devin Waddell will spearhead the effort to get the Sagehens back in the playoffs after a first-round conference tournament loss in 2023. Liu, a junior, racked up 44 hits, 27 RBI, and 14 doubles while Waddell, a senior two-way star and former SCIAC Athlete of the Year, totaled .416/.650/.445 splits, five home runs, 13 doubles and 57 hits from the plate while totaling a 3.25 ERA, striking out 58 and holding hitters to a conference-best .236 average from the mound.
Behind the Sagehens and projected in sixth are the Whittier College Poets. The Poets last won a regular season title in 2015 years ago and will look to return to glory on the shoulders of their two All-Conference selections and new head coach
Terry Schweikert. Senior centerfielder
Sara Luna stole 28 bags and senior catcher
Maya Palos smashed four home runs, 26 RBI and nine doubles. Coming seventh in the poll are the University of La Verne Leopardswho boasted the most recent three-peat before Redlands from 2016-18 and hold 10 titles all-time. Speedy outfielder
Angelina Alderete scored 33 runs and stole 28 bases for the Leos last spring. Rounding out the rankings, the Occidental College Tigers will return hard-hitting backstop
Evelyn Lorch, who logged four home runs and a .562 slugging percentage.
Countable competition began Thursday with Chapman and continues with four more teams in action by the close of the weekend before next weekend’s title between Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands opens conference play on Feb. 14.
2025 SCIAC Softball Preseason Poll
1. Redlands, 63 points (seven first-place votes)
2. Chapman, 56 pts (1)
3. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 43 pts
4. California Lutheran, 41 pts
5. Pomona-Pitzer, 37 pts
6. Whittier, 22 pts
7. La Verne, 17 pts
8. Occidental, 9 pts
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