WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The UNCW softball team was picked to finish second in the Coastal Athletic Association while sophomore outfielder Cassidy Relay was named to the All-CAA Preseason Team following a vote of the league's 12 head coaches ahead of the 2025 season.
The Seahawks, who enter 2025 as the defending league champions and winners of two of the last three CAA titles, were one of five teams to receive a first-place vote with two votes. Delaware was projected as the favorite with six-first place votes while 2024 regular season champion Campbell rounded out the top three with a pair of top votes.
Hofstra and Elon, picked fifth and sixth, respectively, also received first place votes.
Relay will look to build on her dominant first campaign that featured a .380 batting average and a .463 on-base percentage, both top 10 in league action. She also swiped a conference-best 15 bags in CAA play.
UNCW won the 2024 league championship at Boseman Field following a program-record 18 conference wins that surpassed the previous program record set the year prior.
The Seahawks begin a 51-game regular season gauntlet, highlighted by 24 home games, with the first of two home tournaments, including Syracuse, Le Moyne and Queens (N.C.), from Feb. 7-9.
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2025 CAA Preseason Coaches Poll
| Team (1st) |
Points |
| Delaware (6) |
113    |
| UNCW (2) |
106    |
| Campbell (2) |
96     |
| Stony Brook |
87     |
| Hofstra (1) |
83     |
| Elon (1) |
82     |
| Towson |
55     |
| Monmouth |
 47    |
| Drexel |
36     |
| North Carolina A&T |
31     |
| Hampton |
31     |
| Charleston |
25 |
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Preseason Player of the Year: Morgan Hess, Delaware
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2025 Preseason All-CAA Team
| Name |
School |
Cl. |
Position |
Hometown |
| Olivia Malinowski |
 Hofstra |
Sr. |
C |
Mount Ephraim, N.J. |
| Gianna Costaro |
 Delaware |
So. |
1B |
Bellmore, N.Y. |
| Gabi Schaal |
 Elon |
5th |
1B |
Lakeland, Fla. |
| Katie Scheivert |
 Delaware |
Jr. |
2B |
Leesburg, Va. |
| Savannah Simons |
 Monmouth |
Jr. |
3B |
Kapa'a, Hawaii |
| Kyra McFarland |
 Stony Brook |
Gr. |
SS |
Greeley, Colo. |
| Tyra Parker |
 Campbell |
Sr. |
OF |
Humble, Texas |
| Mauri Murray |
 Elon |
Jr. |
OF |
Marvin, N.C. |
| Cassidy Relay |
 UNCW |
So. |
OF |
Colts Neck, N.J. |
| Sydney Shaffer |
 Delaware |
Jr. |
UT |
Ashland, Va. |
| Morgan Hess |
 Delaware |
Sr. |
UT/P |
South Riding, Va. |
| McKenna McCard |
 Elon |
Sr. |
P |
Ashburn, Ga. |
| Billie Kerwood |
 Delaware |
Sr. |
P |
Prospect Park, Penn. |
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Honorable Mentions: Hannah Leierer, Campbell (P) / Madison Ford, Campbell (C) / Mary Beth Cahalan, Delaware (C) / Naiah Ackerman, Stony Brook (2B) / Allee Sering, Elon (3B) / Chloe Blantz, Delaware (SS) / Carmynn Bonner, Hampton (OF) / Alyssa Costello, Stony Brook (OF) / Ashlyn Porter, Campbell (UT) / Gabriella Sultan, Hofstra (UT)
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