The Big West Release

FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton softball team was picked to finish second behind defending champion UC Santa Barbara in the 2026 Big West Softball Preseason Poll, as voted on by the conference's coaches, and placed five players on the preseason All-Big West Team. The Big West announced the poll Thursday.

The Titans are coming off a year in which they entered the inaugural Big West Championship as the No. 1 seed after being named the conference's regular-season champions. Out of the eleven players selected to the 2026 Big West Preseason Team, Cal State Fullerton led the way with five players, including last season's Field Player of the Year Ava Arce, Freshman Field Player of the Year Nataly Lozano, and First-Team selections Colby McClinton, Alexia Lopez, and Trisha McCleskey. The other six players represented four different institutions. 

This marks the second preseason award for Arce and McCleskey, who were both named to D1Softball's 2026 Preseason Mid-Major D100 Player Rankings list. Arce ranked No. 24 in the nation, while McCleskey ranked No. 61. 

Arce finished the 2025 season with a conference-leading slash line of .409/.435/.701. She led the conference with 68 hits and 62 RBI, ranking her tied for 36th in the nation in RBI. Arce contributed a team-leading 12 doubles and 12 home runs, tagging 115 total bases. She was successful in six of her seven stolen base attempts and accounted for 30 runs scored. Arce set a new career-high of four RBI at Cal Poly on March 23 with two multi-run base hits. At first base, the Huntington Beach native posted a .985 fielding percentage with 303 putouts and 18 assists. 

McCleskey (4.43 ERA) pitched a team-high 166.2 innings, making 24 starts and 39 appearances in the circle. She held a 16-9 record with nine complete games, six shutouts and three saves. McCleskey retired 119 batters on strikes, recording a career-high six strikeouts against UC Davis on April 18. 

Lopez was a dominant force behind the plate in 2025, posting a .987 fielding percentage with 279 putouts, 21 assists, and 11 runners caught stealing a base. In the box, Lopez slashed .352/.416/.448 with 51 hits, 10 doubles, two triples and 29 RBI. She drew a team-high 15 walks and scored 30 runs. Lopez was perfect on the bases, going 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts. 

Lozano quickly made a name for herself in her freshman campaign, opening her career with a multi-run home run against the nationally ranked Oklahoma Sooners. She went on to hit seven total home runs, 10 doubles and a triple. Lozano scored 35 runs, had 62 hits, 15 walks, seven stolen bases and 44 RBI. Her 62 hits were good for second in the conference, ranking in the top three among all other Big West opponents in batting average and RBI. In the field, Lozano posted a .968 fielding percentage with 58 putouts and two assists. 

McClinton was the final Titan to receive the preseason honors. She slashed .386/.453/.496 in 2025, recording 49 hits, four doubles, two triples, two home runs (one inside-the-park) and 22 RBI. She scored 35 runs, walked 10 times, was hit by pitch a team-high of eight times, and went 14-for-16 in stolen base attempts. At second base, McClinton made 80 putouts and 86 assists for a .949 fielding percentage. 

UC Santa Barbara landed at the top of the preseason poll with 78 points (six first-place votes). Fullerton followed in second place with 75 points (four first-place votes). Long Beach State ranked third with 65 points, while Hawai'i and UC San Diego shared fourth place with 50 points. UC Davis took sixth place with 38 points, and CSUN was voted seventh with 36 points. Cal Poly was picked to finish in eighth with 27 points. UC Riverside followed in ninth place with 22 points, and Cal State Bakersfield ranked 10th with nine points. 

The Titans open the season on Feb. 5, hosting the four-day Easton Classic. Fullerton will face Ole Miss in a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m., then finish the weekend with games against Portland State and Boise State. 
 
Preseason Coaches' Poll Results
1. UC Santa Barbara - 78 (6)
2. Cal State Fullerton - 75 (4)
3. Long Beach State - 65
T-4. Hawai'i - 50
T-4. UC San Diego - 50
6. UC Davis - 38
7. CSUN - 36
8. Cal Poly - 27
9. UC Riverside - 22
10. Cal State Bakersfield - 9
First-place votes in parentheses 

The conference preseason team is made up of 11 players: Ava Arce (Infielder, Cal State Fullerton), Maalia Cherry (Infielder, UC San Diego), Rebeca Cabezas (Infielder, UC Riverside), Bella Fuentes (Infielder, UC Santa Barbara), Malaya Johnson (Pitcher, UC Santa Barbara), Alexia Lopez (Catcher, Cal State Fullerton), Nataly Lozano (Utility, Cal State Fullerton), Trisha McCleskey (Pitcher, Cal State Fullerton), Colby McClinton (Infielder, Cal State Fullerton), Giselle Mejia (Outfielder, UC Santa Barbara), and Ashley Sawai (Pitcher, UC Davis). 



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