SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Taylor Fitch, Mikee Morris, Karen Spadafora and Berkley Vance each earned distinction as members of the West Coast Conference Preseason team, representing Seattle University softball in its first ever WCC preseason honors as nominated and voted on by the seven coaches of the league.
The quartet is the most by any of the seven schools, matching only Santa Clara with four. The Broncos were selected first in the preseason poll after making their first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament a season ago. They finished with six first place votes. Seattle U was elected fifth behind 19 points, trailing third and fourth by three and two points respectively.
Fitch and Morris go back-to-back in preseason team selections, each being recognized to the Western Athletic Conference’s preseason squad from a year ago. Vance was elected to the four member WCC preseason pitchers team. Between Seattle U and Santa Clara, the two programs boasted 66.7 percent of the preseason team.
Fitch wrapped her junior season batting .349, accruing a team leading 61 hits. The third baseman scored 36 runs, while cataloging 18 doubles, a team leading 11 home runs, and 49 RBI. Fitch achieved career season bests in runs scored, home runs, and RBIs in 2025.
Morris batted .300 in her sophomore campaign, ranking third on the team with 54 hits on the year. She scored 39 runs while tallying 15 doubles, two triples, five home runs and 19 RBI. The shortstop led all Redhawks with 102 assists.
Spadafora leads the returners with 267 putouts from a season ago. The catcher batted .340 in her sophomore season, recording 52 hits while matching Fitch with her new career season best 11 home runs.
Vance made 25 appearances in the circle, posting a 2.86 ERA. She led the team in innings pitched, tossing 117.1 innings her sophomore season. Vance guided the team to nine wins while holding teams to a .245 batting average, a team best in 2025, and struck out 78 batters.
The Redhawks make their official debut in the West Coast Conference on the road in early April, visiting Pacific before debuting in the league at home against Saint Mary’s. Seattle U begins its season on February 5, traveling for a three day tournament hosted by Hawai’i. SU kicks off the year against North Dakota.
2026 West Coast Conference Softball Preseason Poll
- Santa Clara- 36 points (6)
2. Saint Mary's - 31 (1)
3. Oregon State – 22
4. LMU - 21
5. Seattle U -19
6. San Diego - 11
- Pacific - 7
2026 West Coast Conference Softball Preseason Team Position Players
Amanda Bricker, Pacific
Sam Buckley, Saint Mary’s
Taryn Clements, Santa Clara
Cairah Curran, Santa Clara
Taylor Fitch, Seattle U
Hazyl Gray, Santa Clara
Izzy Jamgotchian, LMU
Justine Lambert, LMU
Jada Lewis, Oregon State
Mikee Morris, Seattle U
Olivia Silvestre, Pacific
Karen Spadafora, Seattle U
2026 West Coast Conference Softball Preseason Team Pitchers
Cari Ferguson, Santa Clara
Mia Nishikawa, Saint Mary’s
Berkley Vance, Seattle U
Odhi Vasquez, Saint Mary's
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