SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Yellowjacket softball team was predicted to finish first in the 2025 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) for the first time in program history, as the league revealed its preseason poll in an announcement Thursday.
UW-Superior obtained five first-place votes and 46 total points in the preseason poll of UMAC coaches. In second place with 44 points and two first-place votes was Northwestern, while Bethany Lutheran was slotted third with the final first-place nod and 36 points.
The 'Jackets welcome five newcomers this season while returning a trio of key contributors to the program's fourth league title, coming in junior
MyKenzie Leccia (Somerset, Wis./Somerset) and the senior duo of
Ellie Macal (Winona, Minn./Cotter) and
Zoe Thomson (Le Sueur, Minn./Le Sueur-Henderson).
Leccia garnered a batting average of .376 (41-for-109) while slugging at a .661 clip that ranked third in the UMAC. She led the Yellowjackets in RBIs (42), doubles (17) and shared first in home runs (five), while boasting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage roaming centerfield. Leccia went on a 10-15 span in 2024, clubbing four long balls with 14 RBIs to pick up player of the week honors.
Macal comes off her best season at UW-Superior to date, ending the campaign with a .379 batting average coupled with a slugging percentage of .515. In 2024 she logged seven doubles with two triples and a homer, while featuring a trio of three-hit games and 12 multi-hit days on her way to an honorable mention plaudit from the conference.
Thomson's junior season saw her finish with a .369 batting average while boasting a .430 on-base percentage and a career-high slugging percentage of .607. She compiled 11 games with extra base hits while posting a nine-game hitting streak at the midway point of the campaign. Thomson tied with Leccia for the team-lead in homers (five) as she earned an honorable mention citation.
Minnesota Morris finished the poll in fourth place at 34 points, while Crown and Martin Luther followed with 22 and 20 points, respectively. North Central (15) and Northland (seven) rounded out the league's preseason predictions.
The Yellowjackets travel to the Dundas dome next Friday, taking on a pair of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) teams in Macalester and Carleton. The opening pitch against the Scots is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Dundas, Minn.
