WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Midwestern State will begin its 2012 campaign ranked 20th in that National Fastpitch Coaches' Association Top 25 as released Wednesday morning.
 
The Mustangs have won more games than any other team in the NCAA regardless of classification over the past two seasons with matching Lone Star Conference record 54-win campaigns in 2010 and 2011.
 
Midwestern finished No. 3 in the final poll of 2011 on the strength of its first NCAA Division II World Series appearance where the Mustangs advanced to the semifinal round.
 
The Mustangs return six starters led by a pair of All Americans in senior third baseman Mallory Mooney and junior center field Elena Bennett.
 
Mooney set program single season records with 15 homers and 70 RBIs while hitting .352 in 68 starts at the hot corner while she posted a stellar .963 fielding percentage.
 
Bennett used her speed to hit .414 with and also set a single season high of 39 stolen bases while scoring 58 runs. The Carrollton native committed just one error in center field while notching five outfield assists.
 
Also returning from an offensive unit that hit .332 and scored 5.7 runs a game last season is junior outfielder Courtney Bingham (.355, 3 HR, 44 RBI), sophomore catcher Kim Jerrick (.329, 11 HR, 45 RBI), senior outfielder Nicki Duff (.258, 35 runs, 11 stolen bases) and junior second baseman Carey Campbell (.247, 3 HR, 14 RBI).
 
Other returning letter winners include junior outfielder Megan Chartier (.380, 29 runs, 20 stolen bases), sophomore catcher Courtney Ford and sophomore outfielder Kallie Noble.
 
The Mustangs are one of eight teams from the South Central Region receiving mention in the poll joining No. 5 West Texas A&M, No. 12 Arkansas-Monticello, No. 16 Angelo State and No. 23 Missouri Western while Missouri Southern, Emporia State and St. Mary's are receiving votes.
 
MSU was picked fourth in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll trailing favorite Angelo State, Incarnate Word and West Texas A&M.
 
The Mustangs have advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs in seven of its eight years since restarting the program in 2004.
 
The Mustangs open the season Saturday against No. 12 Arkansas-Monticello in Arkadelphia, Ark. First pitch is set for 10 a.m.
 
Notable
* Midwestern State's season opening doubleheader at Ouachita Baptist has been rescheduled to Monday, Feb. 6 at 1 p.m. due to forecasted rain. The twin bill was originally set for Friday.
  

NFCA Division II Poll
Preseason Poll
Rank	School (1st votes)	Record	Points	Last
1	UC-San Diego	45-13	400	1
2	Alabama-Huntsville	48-6-1	382	2
3	North Georgia	53-12	366	4
4	Saginaw Valley (Mich.)	42-18	313	6
5	West Texas A&M	50-17	303	8
6	Valdosta State (Ga.)	41-11	282	12
7	Indiana (Pa.)	38-8	267	7
8	Augustana (S.D.)	50-11	262	13
9	Lenoir-Rhyne (S.C.)	45-10	255	10
10	C.W. Post (N.Y.)	41-16	234	9
11	Rollins (Fla.)	45-4	223	16
12	Arkansas-Monticello	46-16	190	24
13	Minnesota State-Mankato	54-16	186	5
14	Bloomsburg (Pa.)	33-9	181	11
15	Chico State (Calif.)	31-19	161	RV
16	Angelo State (Texas)	45-14	159	21
17	Hawaii Pacific	38-12	148	19
18	Grand Valley State (Mich.)	41-16	146	18
19	Tampa (Fla.)	39-9	128	23
20	Midwestern State (Texas)	54-14	124	3
21	Armstrong Atlantic (Ga.)	31-14	80	NR
22	West Virginia Wesleyan	48-8	74	20
23	Missouri Western	40-15	60	RV
24	Colorado Mines	36-24	58	NR
25	Merrimack (Mass.)	31-23	52	25
Others Receiving Votes: Indianapolis (Ind.) 30; Flagler (Fla.) 30; Cal State-San Bernardino 19; Dowling (N.Y.) 19; Missouri Southern 18; Sonoma State (Calif.) 14; Kutztown (Pa.) 7; Lewis (Ill.) 5;  Emporia State (Kan.) 4; St. Mary's (Texas) 4; Barry (Fla.) 3; Winona State (Minn.) 2; Molloy (N.Y.) 1.
Records are final 2011 records and previous rankings are from the 2011 final poll.