Softball

John Jay Voted Preseason Favorite in Softball Preseason Poll; Preseason Players to Watch Announced

FLUSHING, N.Y. – The City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) has announced its annual preseason poll for the 2024 softball season. John Jay was chosen as the preseason favorite, as voted upon by the league’s head coaches. Head coaches were not permitted to vote for their own program.
 
The 2024 double-elimination CUNYAC Softball Championship is slated to begin on Thursday, May 9 and conclude on Friday, May 10 at Brooklyn College.
 
Coming off their first title since 2000, the Bloodhounds were awarded 24 points and four first-place votes. John Jay went 26-17 overall with an 8-2 mark against conference opponents to win the regular season championship. The Bloodhounds proved to be the best team over the two-day tournament, winning all three of their contests to earn conference bragging rights for the first time in 23 years and just the second in program history. John Jay reached the conference final after earning victories over No. 4 Brooklyn (11-0) and No. 3 Hunter (9-1), each finishing in five innings.
 
Hunter was chosen to finish second, accumulating 21 points and one first-place vote. Baruch, last season’s runner-up, was slated third with 18 points and the remaining first-place tally. Brooklyn was picked fourth on the ballot with 13 points, followed by Lehman (9) and York (5).
 
2024 CUNYAC Softball Preseason Poll
1. John Jay – 24 Points (Four First-Place Votes)
2. Hunter – 21 (1)
3. Baruch – 18 (1)
4. Brooklyn – 13
5. Lehman – 9
6. York – 5
 
CUNYAC Softball Preseason Players to Watch
Carly Quint (Baruch) – Last season, Quint batted .374 with one home run, 24 RBI, six doubles, four triples, and 12 runs scored. Quint was also fantastic in the circle posting 10 total wins with 82 strikeouts and 15 complete games. For her efforts she was named to the CUNYAC All-Star Team.
 
Danielle Guzzardi (Brooklyn) – Named a conference all-star for the second straight year, Guzzardi was once again the team's go-to in the circle. A two-time CUNYAC Pitcher of the Week, she finished second in the CUNYAC in innings pitched (158.2), second in strikeouts (170), second in wins (12), and fourth in ERA (4.76). 
 
Jessica Fowler (Hunter) – Fowler batted .330 with 31 hits, including a team-high eight doubles, 17 runs scored and 17 runs batted in. For her performance she earned CUNYAC All-Star credentials.  
 
Maleea Gallaspy (John Jay) – Gallaspy turned in a season like no other for John Jay in 2023, resulting in CUNYAC Player of the Year honors and NFCA Region IV Second Team recognition. She was the NCAA Division III Statistical Champion in batting average (.569), becoming just the second Bloodhound in program history to win the batting title, joining Carrie Raffone, who posted a .584 batting back in 2002. Gallaspy finished with 82 hits, the most in the country while placing second in the nation in on-base percentage (.604) and total bases (128), while ranking fifth in slugging percentage (.889), and sixth in runs per game (1.28). 
 
Lizbeth Perez (Lehman) – Perez batted .507 last season with 38 hits, including 16 extra-base hits, 37 runs scored, 34 RBI and 25 stolen bases. She was named a CUNYAC All-Star at the conclusion of the season.
 
Lissenny Florentino (York) – In a Cardinals uniform last season, Florentino produced seven hits, seven RBI and seven runs scored. 

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