CLEVELAND, OH – The North Coast Athletic Conference softball coaches have selected Denison as the 2025 favorite based on voting for the annual preseason poll.
The Big Red, who own eight NCAC titles, topped the 2025 NCAC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll with 46 points and five first-place votes. DePauw, the league leader with nine conference crowns, earned second with 42 points and two first-place votes and was followed closely by Hiram in third with 40 points after receiving the final first-place vote. Wittenberg claimed fourth with 29 points, while Wooster (25), Ohio Wesleyan (22), Oberlin (13) and Kenyon (7) rounded out the eight-team field.
Denison returns all five all-conference selections from last season that helped lead the Big Red to a 25-12 overall record and a 11-3 mark in league play. Senior catcher
Annabelle Calderon (Perris, CA/Orange Vista), a 2024 first-team All-NCAC selection and the reigning NCAC Player of the Year, returns to the field after having success both at the plate and behind it. The senior led the Big Red offense, hitting .495 with 51 hits, 15 doubles, 12 home runs, and 43 RBI in 103 at-bats. She became Denison's single-season home run leader, collecting her 11th homer of the 2024 season against Wittenberg on May 1, and then tacked on another homer to elevate the record to 12 with a solo shot in the 2024 NCAC Tournament. Behind the plate, Calderon posted 150 putouts and 18 assists on 171 total chances, committing just three errors in 37 games while catching seven runners stealing. Impressively, Calderon was named the 2024 Diamond Sports/NFCA Division III Catcher of the Year and as a NFCA first-team All-American. Also returning from the first team is junior right-handed pitcher
Brooke Surbaugh (San Bruno, CA/St. Ignatius), who posted a .362 batting average with six home runs and 23 RBI, while also tallying a 10-8 record and a 2.76 ERA on the mound. Senior right-handed pitcher
Sydney Silverstein (Atlanta, GA/Pace Academy) returns after earning second-team honors for her efforts in the circle last season, going 12-3 with a 2.08 ERA. Junior outfielder
Brianna Gonzalez (Bellmore, NY/Wellington C. Mepham) and sophomore right-handed pitcher
Madilyn Moffitt (New Castle, IN/New Castle) return after receiving third-team recognition a season ago. Gonzalez contributed 19 hits, 12 runs, two doubles, and a .279 batting average, while Moffitt hit .281 with 18 hits, nine RBI, three doubles and two home runs, while recording a 2-1 record on the mound with a 1.84 ERA in 45.2 innings of work.
The 2025 season begins on Saturday, February 22nd, while the first league games are slated for Saturday, March 29th. The NCAC Tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10, at the top seed.
2025 North Coast Athletic Conference
Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points) |
| 1 |
Denison (5) |
46 |
| 2 |
DePauw (2) |
42 |
| 3 |
Hiram (1) |
40 |
| 4 |
Wittenberg |
29 |
| 5 |
Wooster |
25 |
| 6 |
Ohio Wesleyan |
22 |
| 7 |
Oberlin |
13 |
| 8 |
Kenyon |
7 |