IRVINE, Calif. – It's very rare that a conference champion in any collegiate sport returns almost its entire team the following season.

Yet that is the case for the nationally-ranked Concordia University Irvine softball team, which begins a new campaign by hosting nine other schools at the first Concordia Kickoff Classic this Friday through Sunday at Great Park.  (Click here for the #CUIKickoff Tournament Central page)

After winning the PacWest Conference title in back-to-back seasons, the experienced Eagles were voted by the league's coaches as the unanimous favorites to repeat in this week's preseason poll. Hawaii Hilo was voted second with Biola, APU and HPU rounding out the projected top five.

The Eagles were ranked No. 7 in Wayne Cavadi's NCAA DII Power 10 preseason poll. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) also ranked CUI No. 10 in its NCAA DII preseason poll. In 2019, CUI was ranked in the top 15 the entire season and the Eagles reached the No. 1 spot for the first time in the school's NCAA DII era.

CUI is led by a pair of NFCA All-Americans in junior pitcher Callie Nunes and sophomore slugger Sydney Sprinkle. Nunes was named the Preseason PacWest Pitcher of the Year after earning the postseason award with that title in each of her first two seasons on campus. She tied for the NCAA DII lead with 33 wins last season, compiling 266 strikeouts and a 1.34 ERA as well as four no-hitters. The Modesto, Calif. native enters her junior year already ranked third in CUI school history in shutouts (22), fourth in strikeouts (555) and tied for first in career saves (8). She has thrown six career no-hitters in two seasons.

Sprinkle was the 2019 PacWest Freshman of the Year after hitting .373 with nine homers and also made this spring's Preseason All-Conference Team, along with shortstop Sarah Kretschmar, third baseman Amanda Gjertsen, and sophomore outfielder Megan Massa. 

For the full list of the Preseason PacWest Poll and the Preseason All-PacWest Team, click here.

The Eagles remarkably are replacing only one everyday player from a year ago. Last year, CUI centerfielder Heather Nonora was the lone senior on the squad. This spring there are ten.

The talented senior class includes Kretschmar, who started all 55 games last season at shortstop and was the PacWest Softball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and Gjertsen, who was named to two regional teams (NFCA & D2CCA) after hitting .329 with a team-best 44 RBI. Catcher Mackenzie Graham caught all four of the no-no's Nunes threw a year ago and is back after being named the 2019 PacWest Defender of the Year.

"It's an awesome testament to those kids and the road we're on," said CUI head coach Crystal Rosenthal, when asked about how having ten seniors can be a huge advantage. "They are hardworking, really fun to be around and they have great character. We hope to send them off in a great way.

The two-time defending PacWest Conference champions will count on Nunes to anchor their pitching rotation but she has some serious backup. Erika Morris shined as a freshman in 2019, posting a 10-2 record with a sterling 1.81 ERA in over 112 innings of work. Jordan Quinn also tossed a pair of complete games and was 4-0 with a 1.31 ERA.

"We have a really well-rounded pitching staff," explained Rosenthal, who earned career win No. 500 last spring. "We're returning two all-conference pitchers and obviously one of the most-accollated pitchers in the country along with

Jordan Quinn returning full strength. It's always a plus when you have that experience. Erika came in freshman year and was not expecting to pitch and she really saved us and has gained confidence. She's had a great fall, looking for her to have a big year for us too."

In addition to all those returning pitchers, CUI added a left-hander to the fold in freshman Rae Flores.

"It's been a minute since we've had a lefty and to add a strong freshman there that gives us a totally different look," said Rosenthal about the addition of Flores. "She's extremely competitive. She doesn't mind big moments and she's ready to step and contribute anyway we can."

CUI hosted a postseason pod in the West Regional Tournament for the second straight time last May and the Eagles advanced the farthest they ever have since moving up to the DII level.

After extending their winning streak to a season-high 18 games, the Eagles epic season came to a close at the hands of UC San Diego with one of the eight berths in the NCAA DII Softball Championship up for grabs.

"They understand what it takes and how hard it is," said Rosenthal. "I think losing earlier than we would have liked to last year (in postseason) left a bad taste in our mouths, but when you are constantly playing in big games that's an added benefit. The deep runs have given us time together and that's something you can't replace and can't mimic unless you've done it."

The first step to making more postseason memories is the new Concordia Kickoff Classic. CUI is hosting APU, Biola and HPU from the PacWest, Western Washington from the GNAC, and five CCAA teams as part of a three-day, ten-team extravaganza. All ten squads are slated to play five times during opening weekend at Great Park. CUI's first game is Friday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. against Cal State San Marcos.

"We're excited to host our first tournament ever and it's a measuring stick for us with these early games," said Rosenthal. "We're at that point in practice where we've worked hard and now it's time to see how we match up. Our goal is to win every game but we have to focus on the first one and go from there."

For directions and game times for the Concordia Kickoff Classic, click here to go to our Tournament Central webpage.  To order tickets ahead of time for the tournament, click here.

For the full CUI softball schedule, click here.