In their first season in the conference, SU competed for the Mountain Division title going into the final series of the regular season. The Redhawks concluded the year at 16-32-1, behind an 11-9 record in conference play and a third place finish in the division.
Seattle U returns seven letterwinners from last season, including five starters, and eighth season head coach Dan Powers adds seven newcomers to this year's squad. The Redhawks will open up 2011 action at the UCSB Gaucho Classic I from Feb. 11 to 13. SU's season opener will be versus Western Kentucky.
In the preseason poll, Loyola Marymount, Portland State and defending champion Saint Mary's were tabbed as the preseason favorites for the 2011 Pacific Coast Softball Conference championship, in a vote of the PCSC's 12 head coaches.
All 12 conference head coaches voted in the poll. Each head coach predicted the order of finish in both the Coastal and Mountain Division and also chose an overall conference champion. A school receiving a first-place vote to win their division scored six points, second place was worth five points and so forth.
Portland State was a unanimous choice to repeat as Mountain Division champions. Northern Colorado was picked to finish second with 49 points, followed by Utah Valley (48), Seattle U (44), Idaho State (26) and Weber State (13).
Each team will play a 20-game conference schedule, playing each school within its division in a four-game series. The winners of the Coastal and Mountain Division will meet in the best-of-three PCSC Championship Series, with the winner receiving the PCSC's automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The site of this year's Championship Series will be at the Mountain Division winner.
Since the PCSC began play, Loyola Marymount has won the most PCSC titles with three. The Lions won the inaugural crown in 2003 and added titles in 2005 and 2007. Portland State is the only other school with multiple titles, winning the PCSC in 2006 and 2009. Santa Clara (2004), Sacramento State (2008) and Saint Mary's (2010) have won one title apiece.
2011 PCSC Preseason Coaches Poll
Mountain Division
1. Portland State (12) 72
2. Northern Colorado 49
3. Utah Valley 48
4. Seattle U 44
5. Idaho State 26
6. Weber State 13
Coastal Division
1. Saint Mary's (6) 65
2. Loyola Marymount (4) 55
3. Sacramento State (2) 53
4. San Diego 39
5. Cal State Bakersfield 28
6. Santa Clara 12
Overall Champion: Portland State 4, Loyola Marymount 4, Saint Mary's 3, Sacramento State 1.