ARLINGTON, Texas — Utah Valley senior shortstop Britney Moreno has been named to the preseason All-WAC team by the league's coaches, the conference announced in a press release on Thursday afternoon.
As a team, the Wolverines were picked to finish fourth by their WAC compatriots in the conference's final season. The top four teams were separated by just nine points and each squad garnered at least one first place vote, with 2025 WAC runners-up Tarleton State leading the way at the top with four first place votes and 32 points.
California Baptist, UT Arlington, and UVU rounded out the top four with 27, 24, and 23 points respectively. Southern Utah was picked to finish fifth, while Abilene Christian and Utah Tech claimed the bottom two spots.
Moreno, a native of La Habra, Calif., had an all-around outstanding season in 2025, contributing in all facets of the game for the Wolverines. Moreno anchored down the difficult shortstop position with relative ease, playing every inning but two in that role and ranking among the league leaders in fielding percentage. Moreno led the team in hits with 57 and runs with 33, while finishing second in RBIs with 27 and stolen bases with eight.
Moreno is just the third Wolverine to have over 55 hits in a season in the WAC era (since 2014), joining UVU greats Madison Carr (82) and Linnah Rebolledo (61), who each reached that plateau in 2022. Entering her senior season, Moreno ranks third in the WAC in games played and games started, behind only UTA's Marley Neises and fellow Wolverine Angelique Mann.
Moreno and Utah Valley open the 2026 season in a week's time on Feb. 6 in El Paso, Texas, where the Wolverines will open the season against St. Thomas (MN) and UTEP on Opening Day. The game against the Miners will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stats for both games will be available at GoUVU.com/stats.
2026 WAC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
Rank
|
Team (1st-Place Votes)
|
Points
|
|
1.
|
Tarleton State (4)
|
32
|
|
2.
|
California Baptist (1)
|
27
|
|
3.
|
UT Arlington (1)
|
24
|
|
4.
|
Utah Valley (1)
|
23
|
|
5.
|
Southern Utah
|
19
|
|
6.
|
Abilene Christian
|
16
|
|
7.
|
Utah Tech
|
6
|
2026 WAC Preseason Co-Players of the Year
Arianna Ramirez, Jr., IF, Southern Utah
Shelby Schultz, So., LHP, Tarleton State
2026 WAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Shelby Schultz, So., Tarleton State
2026 Preseason All-WAC Team
Ashlee Annett, Sr., 3B, California Baptist
Miranda De Nava, So., RHP, California Baptist
Matti Severns, Jr., Utl., California Baptist
Arianna Ramirez, Jr., IF, Southern Utah
Michaella Salvatierra, So., OF, Southern Utah
Shelby Schultz, So., LHP, Tarleton State
Kailee Bautista, Sr., C, UT Arlington
Mia McNulty, Jr., C/Utl., UT Arlington
LB Kahahawai-Kekona, Sr., SS/OF, Utah Tech
Kinley Pappas, So., C/1B, Utah Tech
Britney Moreno, Sr., IF, Utah Valley
