Fort Lewis College Athletics

Makenna Milliman at Colorado School of Mines

Juliana Landefeld, Mines Athletics

Makenna Milliman (44) at the plate against the Orediggers at Joe Coors, Jr. Softball Field (Feb. 23, 2025)

Skyhawks softball picked tenth in RMAC preseason poll

1/22/2026 12:00:00 PM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Fort Lewis College softball team has been voted to finish in tenth place among 12 total teams in the 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, the league announced on Thursday afternoon.

The Skyhawks, preparing to embark on the program's 43^rd season, captured 32 points to edge out Chadron State College (30 pts) and Adams State University (16 pts), trailing closely behind ninth-place New Mexico Highlands University (35 pts).

Colorado Christian University, the reigning 2025 RMAC regular season and tournament champions, sits atop this year's poll with 117 points, including seven first-place votes and four second-place votes. The Cougars are chased by second-place Colorado Mesa University (109 pts) and third-place Metropolitan State University of Denver (102 pts).

Rounding out the top six, and thus the league's projected pool for the 2026 RMAC Tournament, are the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (87 pts) in fourth place, Colorado State University Pueblo (75 pts) in fifth, and Colorado School of Mines (68 pts) in sixth. Black Hills State University ranks seventh (64 pts), and Regis University (57 pts) ranks eighth.

Fort Lewis sees the return of 2025 Honorable Mention All-RMAC outfield Makenna Milliman, who held an explosive .391 batting average with 43 hits, including six doubles and three home runs for 24 runs batted in (RBI). Skyler Dietz aids her in the outfield, adding another .322 average. 39 hits, and 19 RBIs. The Skyhawks also return nearly its entire pitching staff from last season, paced by Chloe Padilla, who held a team-best 4-7 record with a 4.08 earned run average and 67 strikeouts.

The Skyhawks will kick off the season on Friday, Jan. 30, in Irvine, Calif., at the Concordia Kickoff Classic at OC Great Park. Fort Lewis will take on five opponents from the west region before heading over to Edmond, Okla., for the UCO-OC Classic, and another five opponents from the south central region. In total, the Skyhawks will compete in a ten-game non-conference schedule that features four programs featured on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Preseason Top 25 poll, including No. 11 University of Central Oklahoma, No. 14 California State University San Marcos, No. 25 Oklahoma Christian University, and Concordia University Irvine, which received votes. Four of the ten teams made it to the NCAA regional round last season, with eight teams making it to their respective conference tournaments.

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