PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Four American Athletic Conference teams have garnered preseason recognition heading into the season, as Wichita State, Tulsa, Houston and USF each received votes in both the 2019 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 listing.

All four teams are coming off of trips to the NCAA Tournament last May.

USF was picked as the favorite in The American in 2019, as selected by the league’s coaches earlier this month, while Wichita State and Houston also received first-place votes. Tulsa begins the season as the three-time defending conference tournament champion and USF looks to defend its regular-season title.

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Weekly regular season polls will begin on Feb. 12.

The 2019 softball season begins Thursday, Feb. 7 while conference play starts Friday, Mar. 22. The 2019 American Softball Championship will take place May 9-11 at Cougar Softball Stadium in Houston, Texas.