UT Arlington was picked to finish eighth in the team's second season in the Sun Belt Conference as released by the league's 2015 Preseason Poll voted on by the SBC coaches.

UTA begins its season on Feb. 6 at the Tangi Tourism Lion Classic in Hammond, La. The Mavericks will open the newly reconstructed Allan Saxe Field on Feb. 12 to begin the Maverick Invitational. UTA hosts Incarnate Word, Buffalo, Ohio State and Sam Houston State in its opening tournament followed by featured games against Texas Tech and UMKC as part of the UT Arlington Invitational beginning on Feb. 20.

The reigning Sun Belt Conference softball champions, UL Lafayette, enter the 2015 season once again as the favorite to claim the league title. The Ragin' Cajuns starting catcher, junior Lexie Elkins, was tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year while the team's redshirt senior starting pitcher Christina Hamilton was selected as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.

The Sun Belt Conference announced its entire Softball Preseason All-Conference team with selections made in a vote by the league's nine head coaches.

Elkins, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year, is coming off an impressive first season with the Ragin' Cajuns in which she earned NFCA Third Team All-American and First Team All-Central Region honors. She started in 59 of the Ragin' Cajuns' 60 games behind the plate and hit .388 on the season with 73 hits, 74 RBI (Ranked fifth nationally) and 41 runs scored. She was first in the conference and second in the nation with 24 home runs and had a slugging percentage of .835, which ranked No. 11 in the country.

Hamilton, the reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year, was named a NFCA Second Team All-American and NFCA First Team All-Central Region player last season. Hamilton went 29-4 with a 1.56 ERA in 237.1 innings in the circle and helped lead the Ragin' Cajuns to the 2014 Women's College World Series. Her 29 wins tied for 13th in the country. She pitched 23 complete games while striking out 187 batters and allowed just 164 hits, 53 earned runs and held batters to a .191 average.

UL Lafayette is coming off its sixth trip to the Women's College World Series last season after it hosted and won a regional and super regional at Lamson Park in Lafayette, La. The Ragin' Cajuns earned the No. 6 national seed in last year's tournament and fell by scores of 4-1 to No. 14-seed Kentucky and 3-1 to No. 7 seed Oklahoma at the Women's College World Series. The Ragin' Cajuns were tabbed ninth in the NFCA Preseason Top 25.

South Alabama enters the season ranked No. 23 in the same poll behind the stellar play of senior pitcher Farish Beard. A Preseason All-Conference pitcher, Beard was a Top-25 finalist for 2014 USA Softball Collegiate Player-of-the-Year award and was named a Sun Belt First Team All-Conference at-large selection last season. She led the NCAA in ERA for three weeks before finishing sixth in the category (1.23) and fifth in hits allowed per seven innings (3.40). Beard was joined by fellow Jaguars Blair Johnson and Stephanie Pilkington on the Preseason All-Conference Team.

Georgia State was picked to finish third in the preseason poll and placed two student-athletes on the Preseason All-Conference team. 2014 First Team honoree Lauren Coleman and junior Taylor Anderson represented the Panthers on the team. Sun Belt newcomer Georgia Southern placed one student-athlete on the team in sophomore outfielder Taylor Rogers.

Following a semifinals run in last season's Sun Belt Conference Championship tournament, UL Monroe placed three student-athletes on the Preseason All-Conference Team. Sophomore outfielder Rochelle Roberts, last season's Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year, redshirt senior Miyuki Navarrete and senior Alexis Cacioppo earned distinction this season. Two student-athletes from the host of the 2015 Sun Belt Championship, Texas State, also made the Preseason All-Conference team. Seniors Courtney Harris and Kortney Koroll represented the Bobcats after leading the team with seven and nine home runs each last season.

The 2015 Sun Belt Conference softball campaign begins next Thursday, Feb. 5 highlighted by a sold-out contest in Mobile, Ala., between No. 23-ranked South Alabama and No. 3-ranked Alabama. Conference play begins on Saturday, March 7. Eight teams will advance to the conference tournament held May 6-9 in San Marcos, Texas, at Bobcat Softball Stadium on the campus of Texas State University.

2015 Sun Belt Conference Preseason All-Conference Team
P: Christina Hamilton (UL Lafayette, Redshirt Senior, Pitcher); Farish Beard (South Alabama, Senior, Pitcher)

C: Lexie Elkins (UL Lafayette, Junior, Catcher)

1B: Lauren Coleman (Georgia State, Senior, First Base)

2B: Miyuki Navarrete (UL Monroe, Redshirt Senior, Second Base)

SS: Taylor Anderson (Georgia State, Junior, Shortstop)

3B: Courtney Harris (Texas State, Senior, Third Base)

OF: Rochelle Roberts (UL Monroe, Sophomore, Outfield); Blair Johnson (South Alabama, Senior, Outfield); Stephanie Pilkington (South Alabama, Junior, Outfield)

DP: Kortney Koroll (Texas State, Senior, Designated Player)

At-Large: Taylor Rogers (Georgia Southern, Sophomore, Outfield); Haley Hayden (UL Lafayette, Sophomore, Second Base); Shellie Landry (UL Lafayette, Junior, Outfield); Alexis Cacioppo (UL Monroe, Senior, Third Base)

2015 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year
Lexie Elkins (UL Lafayette, Junior, Catcher)

2015 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Pitcher Player of the Year
Christina Hamilton (UL Lafayette, Redshirt Senior, Pitcher)

2015 Sun Belt Conference Softball Preseason Poll (First Place Votes)