IRVINE, Calif. – UC San Diego softball was selected to finish ninth in the Big West as announced in the 2024 Big West Softball Preseason Poll on Monday afternoon. The Tritons were awarded 22 points by the conference's head coaches.
 
The Tritons went 9-18 in conference game play in 2023 and 19-33 overall in the 2023 season. This will be the Tritons fourth season in the Big West and the final season of UC San Diego's reclassification to NCAA Division I. The Tritons will be eligible for postseason competition in the 2025 season.
 
The team is returning 15 players, six seniors: Teagan Dobson, Zoë Richards, Mariah Melendez, Deena Pederson, Shelby Thompson, and Gabby Williams, four juniors: Marissa Hassis, Alexa DeMarse, Reilly Erickson, and Morgan Eng, five sophomores: Kayleigh Coberly, Lily Hermosillo, Georgia Heathcock, Hailey Mulligan, and Claire Adams, and four new additions with three true freshmen: Lexi O'Gorman, Brooklyn Lee, and Jackie Tremper, and one junior transfer: India Caldwell.
 
The gold and blue were led at the plate by Deena Pederson for much of the season before an injury cut the year short. In 29 games played, the senior was batting an average of .389 with five doubles, two triples, and a home run. In 83 at-bats, Pederson only struck out eight times and was slugging .542. Morgan Eng added her bat with an average of .291 and was 35-36 on the base paths. Eng set a program high with six steals in a single game. Notable losses for the Tritons are Clarissa Reynoso, Bobbi Aguirre, Keila Bosinger, Kaia Simpson, and Jada Cecil.
 
In the circle, Gabby Williams and Shelby Thompson combined for 89 strikeouts and only 59 earned runs in 570 at-bats. Both finished with winning records, Williams finished at 23-7 with two complete games and Thompson at 19-11.
  
The Tritons kickoff their season at Triton Softball Stadium, Feb. 9-11, as they host the third annual La Jolla Invitational on the UC San Diego campus.
 
2024 Big West Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll 
Rank                Institution                   Points 
1.                     Cal State Fullerton      77 (6)
2.                     Long Beach State        75 (4)
3.                     CSUN                           65
4.                     UC Santa Barbara        52
5.                     UC Davis                      47
6.                     Hawai'i                         46 
7.                     Cal Poly                       31
8.                     UC Riverside                26
9.                     UC San Diego              22
10.                   Cal State Bakersfield   9
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.