INDIANAPOLIS – With the last three Horizon League regular season titles already under its belt, UIC softball has been picked to repeat yet again, the conference office announced Wednesday. The Flames secured all nine of the first-place votes in the preseason coaches' poll, a first-time feat for any League program, for a total of 81 points.
 
UIC will look to feed off a 2017 season that took the regular season and tournament champs to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2011. The team went 39-22 overall for the most wins since 2005 (40) while it set the program record for conference wins following a 20-4 mark.
 
Under the leadership of second-year head coach Lynn Curylo, the Flames carry a roster of 18 into the 2018 campaign that features 13 returners and five newcomers to hold a class of six freshmen, four sophomores, six juniors and two seniors.
 
The group is highlighted by All-League and All-Region selection Lexi Watts, as well as All-Leaguers Karissa Frazier, Taylor Cairns, Jennah Speth and Kayla Wedl. Watts, Speth and Wedl produced the top three batting averages for UIC last season as Frazier tabbed the top earned-run average in the circle.
 
The road to another title begins Feb. 8 when the Flames head down south for a matchup with LSU, ranked No. 8 in the Preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll, in Baton Rouge, La., before they move on to Lafayette, La., where they will face Samford, Iowa, Evansville and host Louisiana at Lafayette in the Mardi Gras Classic (Feb. 9-11).

2018 Horizon League Preseason Coaches' Poll

Rank	School	Points (1st)
1.	UIC	81 (9)
2.	Youngstown State	71
3.	Wright State	59
4.	Detroit Mercy	54
5.	Oakland	41
6.	IUPUI	35
7.	Northern Kentucky	31
8.	Green Bay	19
9.	Cleveland State	14