RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Following a season that resulted in the program's second trip to the NCAA Division II National Championships in the past three seasons, Southern Arkansas will enter the 2019 softball season as the favorite in the Great American Conference following a vote of the league's 12 head coaches.

The Lady Muleriders garnered the first-place vote from all 11 other institutions after they went 60-11 in 2018. They return a pair of All-Americans in pitcher Victoria Taylor and third baseman Faith Otts. Taylor posted a 33-1 record with a 1.34 ERA and 243 strikeouts. She won the league's...