By ISU Sports Information
ST. LOUIS – Illinois State junior Riley Strandgard and senior Jordan de los Reyes have been selected to the 2017 MVC Preseason All-Conference softball team, the conference office announced on Wednesday. Additionally, the Redbirds were selected fifth in the league preseason poll.
“Both Jordan and Riley are very deserving of these honors,” softball coach Melinda Fischer said. “We’d like to see them continue to improve, not only in the Valley but also out of the Valley. They certainly have been great assets to our program to this point and we’re excited for them to continue to improve.”
De los Reyes wrapped up her junior season as the MVC’s Defensive Player of the Year in addition to earning NFCA All-Mideast Region third team, All-MVC first team, and All-MVC defensive team honors. The senior started all 53 games for the Redbirds and currently ranks fourth in program history in home runs, fifth in RBIs and third in slugging percentage.
Strandgard started all 53 games at shortstop in 2016. The junior led the team in batting average (.368), hits (60), triples (2), total bases (91), slugging percentage (.558) and on-base percentage (.421). Strandgard collected NFCA All-Mideast Region second team, All-MVC second team, MVC All-Tournament team honors during her second season as a Redbird.
Illinois State has been selected for a fifth place finish in the conference standings with 54 points as voted on by the league’s coaches. The Redbirds return seven starters from last season’s squad that finished seventh in the MVC.
“This spot is right where we should be,” Fischer said. “It’s based a lot on what you return to the circle and we’re untested in that area. If you look at the top three choices of Drake, Wichita, and Southern Illinois, they all have pitchers returning who’ve seen a lot of innings in the conference and done well.”
Drake is the preseason favorite with 92 points and six first-place votes, followed by Wichita State with three votes. Southern Illinois and Northern Iowa are tabbed third and fourth before the Redbirds. Evansville ranks sixth, Missouri State and Bradley tied for seventh, while Indiana State and Loyola round out the group.
“There’s really no dominance of any one Valley team based on the preseason selection,” Fischer said. “It’s very spread out. It shows how tight the conference will be this year.”
The Redbirds open the 2017 season on Feb. 9 at the USF Wilson DeMarini Tournament in Tampa, Florida, and will face 2016 NCAA tournament teams USF, Florida, and Michigan, in addition to Delaware and St. John’s.
