PERKINSTON — The Mississippi Gulf Coast softball team will start the 2022 season ranked in the Top 10.

 

The NJCAA Division II preseason poll came out Monday, and the Bulldogs are back in elite company and ranked eighth. Last year’s squad, coached by Gulf Coast Hall of Famer Kenneth Long, finished fourth in the national championship tournament in Oxford, Ala.

 

“Rankings are very complimentary of the program and the rich tradition of Gulf Coast softball,” new coach David Kuhn said. “It’s usually based on what you did last year, and obviously last year the girls did a great job with Coach Long and his staff.”

 

Kuhn is starting his first season at Gulf Coast. He’s the winningest coach in Delta State and Central Arkansas history.

 

His first team at Perk will take the field for real for the first time Feb. 1. The Bulldogs travel to Bishop State in Mobile to open the season.

 

Their first home games will be Feb. 15 when Mississippi Delta visits Ross-Smith Field.

 

Gulf Coast is one of four MACCC teams in the Top 10, with five in the Top 20.

 

Monday’s news puts a target squarely on Gulf Coast’s back.

 

“It’s good for the program,” Kuhn said, “but that notoriety doesn’t matter after the first pitch of the first game.”

 

For more information on MGCCC’s 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.