CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas softball team is well represented on this year’s All-Southland Preseason Softball Team as three Bears garnered first team honors while one was named to the second team. UCA was also picked to finish seventh this season by the conference sports information directors and eighth by the league’s coaches.
 
UCA led all conference teams with three first-team selections and were one of just three teams along with Texas State and UT Arlington that had four overall student-athletes named to both teams. 
 
The list of first teamers include the 2011 Southland Hitter of the Year, Melanie Bryant and returning 2011 All-Southland selections Kasey Britt and Katie McGregor. Nicole Beals, a senior out of Goodyear, Ariz., was the lone Bear named to the second team.
 
Last season, Bryant led UCA at the plate with a .429 average, was second on the team with eight homers and 37 RBI and had a slugging percentage of .663 while playing and starting in 55 games. Britt played and started all 56 games in 2011 and led the team in home runs with 10 and RBI with 44. The senior from Florence, Miss. also hit .350 and had a team-high 16 doubles. A senior from Lake Jackson, Texas, McGregror was a .293 hitter in 2011 with three homers and 21 RBI while making 43 starts. A senior outfielder, Beals played and started in all 56 games last season and hit .277 while stealing 11 bases. Beals committed just one error last season and added two outfield assists.
 
The Bears received 45 points in the sports information director’s poll and 40 points in the coaches’ poll. Both the coaches and the sports information directors tabbed Texas State to win the league. Meanwhile, the coaches picked Texas A&M-Corpus Christi second and UT Alrington third while the sports information directors did just the opposite. Each poll selected McNeese State, UTSA and Northwestern State fourth through six.
 
Following UCA at seventh in the sports information director’s poll was Sam Houston State, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin and Nicholls. The coaches’ poll had Sam Houston State tabbed seventh and UCA eighth with Stephen F. Austin, Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls rounding out the bottom three.
 
UCA, who finished 2011 with a 26-30 overall record with a 12-18 mark in Southland play, opens their 2012 season on Feb. 9 at Alcorn State. 

2012 All-Southland Conference Preseason Softball Teams
First Team
1B    Haley Lemons, Texas State
2B    Cali Burke, Northwestern St.
3B    Ashley Ray, Nicholls
SS    Megan Gaspard, Nicholls
C      Melanie Bryant, UCA
UT    Kasey Britt, UCA
DP    Katie McGregor, UCA
OF    Hannah Schwarz, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
OF    Claire Terracina, McNeese St.
OF    Kelsey Nichols, UT Arlington
P      Callie Collins, UT Arlington
P      Anne Marie Taylor, Texas State

Second Team
1B    Caitlyn Ivy, UTSA
2B    Anna Hernandez, Texas State
3B    Taylor Zink, UT Arlington
SS    Courtney Enocksen, UT Arlington
C      Molly Fichtner, UTSA
UT    Chandler Hall, Texas State
DP    MyKeisha Young, McNeese St.
OF    Tori Benavidez, Sam Houston St.
OF    Charne Office, UT Arlington
OF    Nicole Beals, UCA
P       Kelee Grimes, Northwestern St.
P       Vianca Pesina, Texas A&M-Corpus-Christi