Coming off a record 47 wins and being one out from advancing to a super regional, the Cowgirls are once again favored to win the Southland Conference softball championship.

McNeese State was easily picked as the preseason front-runner by SLC coaches and sports information directors on Friday.

The Cowgirls picked up all 16 first-place votes possible. Coaches and SIDs are not allowed to vote for their schools.

“All the preseason stuff is overrated,” said McNeese head coach James Landreneau. “It’s what you do at the end of the season that matters. It is nice though to be recognized by your peers.”

Southeastern Louisiana, which the Cowgirls beat to capture last year’s SLC Tournament championship on shortstop Reese Reyna’s walk-off homer, received the other two top votes from McNeese. Southeastern also won a school-record 47 games last year.

“I expect them to be really good,” Landreneau said of the Lions. “They have upgraded their roster. I am looking forward to some very good matchups with them.”

The Cowgirls finished with 128 points while the Lions had 114. Nicholls State placed third with 97.

“I don’t think the conference gets enough credit for how it has upgraded softball,” Landreneau said. “It is a much tougher league now than it used to be. It is definitely harder to win games.”

While the Cowgirls return seven starters and four pitchers from a year ago, a good portion of the roster made up of sophomores.

“We are still a young team,” Landreneau said. “We want to take those young players who have experience and reset. You don’t want them to come off and just expect it to happen again.”

McNeese also led the conference in number of players picked for preseason honors. Eight Cowgirls earned recognition, which also released its preseason teams Friday.

Reyna, utility player Chloe Gomez, outfielder Erin Ardoin and pitcher Ashley Vallejo, were voted to the first team.

Four McNeese players — first baseman Crislyne Moreno, second baseman Mariana Torres, third baseman Rylie Bouvier, and pitcher Shaelyn Sanders — made the second time.

The Cowgirls have advanced to a regional title game in each of the last two seasons and took a 6-0 lead into the seventh inning at Washington last spring before the Huskies rallied to victory.

“We believe we have a team that can win on the national level,” Landreneau said. “The key for us is to realize this is a new team. Can we build on what we did last year and just match it is the question.

“You hope to take things you have learned from the previous years but every season is new and different.”

McNeese has won a Southland-best eight regular-season titles, three, including the last two, under Landreneau. The Cowgirls are looking to make their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Landreneau is entering his eighth season as head coach, posting a 258-141 record and 118-35 in the Southland. His teams have posted 40 wins or more four times and 30-plus on two other occasions.

The lone season his club missed that number was in the COVID year of 2020.

McNeese will open the season Thursday night at home against California at Cowgirl Diamond.