Tuesday proved to be a big day for Florida State softball as the defending national champions got their preseason ranking and placed five players on the preseason All-ACC team.
The Seminoles will start the year ranked No. 1 in the NCFA Poll. FSU received 21 of a possible 32 first-place votes. UCLA, Washington, Oklahoma and Florida rounded out the top 5.
FSU is also the preseason favorite to win the ACC after receiving 11 of 12 possible first-place votes from the conference’s coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team. The other vote went to Virginia Tech, which was projected to finish 10th.
Notre Dame was projected to finish second, followed by North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Louisville. The Tar Heels were projected to win the ACC Coastal. FSU has won each of the last five ACC titles.
The Seminoles also led the conference with five preseason All-ACC selections led by pitcher and last season’s Women’s College World Series hero, Meghan King. King has been named All-ACC in each of the last two seasons. King finished last season with a 26-6 record and 1.17 ERA.
Seniors Zoe Casas, an outfielder and infielder Carsyn Gordon each made the preseason team. Casas finished 2018 with a .299 average, three home runs and 37 RBIs en route to being named first-team All-ACC. Gordon was a second-team selection last year after hitting .305 with 12 home runs and 51 RBIs.
Sydney Sherrill made the preseason team after being named first-team last season. Last year’s ACC Rookie of the Year, Sherill led the nation in doubles last season, finishing with a .370 average, 12 homers and 58 RBIs. Sherrill is the returning leader for FSU in average, runs, hits, double, homers and RBIs.
Junior catcher and postseason hero Anna Shelnutt also made the team. Shelnutt hit .261 a season ago with seven home runs and 32 RBIs. Shelnutt was responsible for the walk-off blast that clinched FSU’s fifth straight ACC title and the solo home run that accounted for all the scoring in the first game of the Women’s College World Series championship series against Washington.
FSU opens the season on Feb. 8 at home against UNC-Wilmington. To view the complete All-ACC team, click here.
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