OVERAND PARK, Kan. – The Johnson County Community College baseball team will open the season at No. 8 in the preseason National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II softball poll, announced by the national committee Monday, January 22. The Lady Cavaliers received 130 points in the preseason poll. Last week, the Cavaliers were picked as the preseason favorite to win the Kansas Jayhawk Conference D-II Division title this year. 

Louisburg College earned top spot, followed by defending national champion Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Phoenix College, Parkland College and South Mountain Community College. KJCCC D-II rival Cowley College came in at No. 20 and Fort Scott Community College received votes.

Under the direction of head coach Aubree Brattin-Volkens JCCC has appeared in the NJCAA Preseason D-II Poll in 11 of her 13 seasons. This is the fifth time her team has been ranked in the top 10 open a season. Her teams have been ranked in 85 of a possible 109 polls over 13 seasons (78%). 

Last season the Lady Cavaliers opened the season unranked but at the end of the season they found themselves ranked among the top-20 programs in the country at No. 13. JCCC finished the season with a record of 33-9 and were co-champions of the Kansas Jayhawk D-II Conference. Individually 10 players were selected all-conference/all-district, with Harrison landing the Most Valuable Player award, proving to be one of the best arms in the conference punctuated by her selection as Pitcher of the Week five times during the season. She also was tabbed third-team All-American. 

Johnson County finished fourth in the country with a .412 team batting average, sixth with a .472 on-base percentage and 15^th with a .599 slugging percentage. In the circle, JCCC pitchers rans 13^th nationally with a 3.38 earned run average.