IRVINE, Calif.—The Big West Conference released its 2020 softball preseason coaches poll on Wednesday and the University of Hawai'i was picked to finish in third place. The poll was voted on by the eight head coaches of the BWC. The Rainbow Wahine garnered 46 points. Four-time defending league champion Cal State Fullerton received six first place votes and 62 total points to repeat as the preseason favorites. Long Beach State received the final two first place votes and a total of 54 points to be chosen to finish in second place.
 
Last season, the Rainbow Wahine finished second in the Big West with a 33-16 overall record and 14-7 mark in conference. It was UH's highest finish since it won the conference in 2013 in its first year back in the Big West.
 
Hawai'i returns 11 letterwinners plus two redshirt freshmen from last season. The 'Bows welcome 11 new players into the fold—including eight freshmen, a sophomore, and two transfers. Nawai Kaupe, a junior transfer who spent her first two seasons at Washington and Sammie Ofoia, a sophomore who played one year at SIU-Edwardsville both returned home to Hawai'i to continue their collegiate careers with the Rainbow Wahine.
 
Hawai'i is led by senior first base/catcher Callee Heen. Last year as a junior, she led the league with 15 home runs and 31 walks. She led UH with a .374 batting average, 46 RBI, a .509 on-base percentage and a .789 slugging percentage. In the pitching circle, Isabella "Izzy" Dino returns for her sophomore season and leads a staff of seven into the 2020 season. Last season, Dino recorded a 9-6 overall record while posting a 2.93 ERA in 107.2 innings pitched. She struck 39 with  22 walks in 22 appearances.
 
2020 Big West Coaches Preseason Poll

1.	Cal State Fullerton (6)	62
2.	Long Beach State (2)	54
3.	Hawai'i	46
4.	CSUN	37
5.	UC Davis	30
6.	UC Riverside	28
7.	Cal Poly	17
8.	UC Santa Barbara	14

( ) First-place votes