Being voted number one in the preseason has been the kiss of death for some teams.

But that doesn't faze Delaware State softball coach Jeff Savage.  MEAC head coaches and sports information directors picked the Lady Hornets to win the conference crown after they finished second to Bethune-Cookman in the 2011 MEAC Tournament, and . Savage deems being tabbed as the team to beat is an honor, not a curse.

 "We embrace that,'' Savage says. "We preseason pick ourselves No. 1 every year. We think we should be one of the top teams in the conference. Being picked No. 1 means everybody knows what we know. Everybody knows we're as good as we think we are.''

The Lady Hornets, the 2008 MEAC champions, were 32-19 last season and 12-6 in northern divisional play. They lost to Bethune-Cookman in nine innings in the second championship game in the double-elimination bracket of the MEAC Tournament.

"When we go into every year our goal is to win the championship and get to the NCAA Tournament,'' Savage says. "It's no different this year.  We think we should be one of the top teams in the conference. Whether we do it or not is a different story. We'll see how it plays out. But we have no problem being picked where we were picked.''

Savage and the Lady Hornets have ample reason to think they are the top team in the conference. They return four pre-season first team All-MEAC selections, led by outfielder Jordan Reid, the preseason MEAC Player of the Year.

Reid led the MEAC and was second in the nation with a .497 batting average. She also led the MEAC in on-base percentage (.551) and hits and finished second in runs scored (45). Reid had five triples and 11 doubles among her 77 hits in 155 plate appearances.

If she's on base and creating, that makes our offense, '' Savage says. "She leads by example.''

Delaware State also placed pitcher Stephanie Sarris, infielder Stephanie Martello and catcher/infielder Rachel Carroll on the preseason All-MEAC team.

Bethune-Cookman, the two-time defending conference champion, is picked to win the Southern Division despite losing a number of key members of the 2011 squad. The losses include MEAC Pitcher of the Year Allison Garcia and Chastity Sanders, the Lady Wildcats No. 2 pitcher.

 "We need someone to step up,'' Coach Chris Cochran says. "Sometimes it's two steps forward and one backwards. They're coming along. I'm seeing some progress.''

The Lady Wildcats are off to a 5-16 start in pre-conference play. One of their wins was a 6-5 come-from-behind victory against Delaware State in a nonconference contest.

 Aurelia Gamch, a preseason All-MEAC pick, and Michelle Banuelos-Smith have been the offensive catalysts for the Lady Wildcats. Banuelos-Smith leads the team with a .373 average, 22 hits and 14 runs. Gamch is batting .317 with 20 hits, and she has scored 13 runs.

 "We're just looking to get out on the field and get some games,'' Cochran says. "We're trying to get better each game. Our kids have a good attitude. We're working hard. They want to be a good team. That's the expectation you have to have from the team every day. I'm really happy with that.''

Even though Delaware State and Bethune-Cookman are picked to be the class of the conference, Savage expects both division races to be highly competitive.

 "Everybody has gotten better,'' Savage says. "There was a time when I was not sure every school was working at it. Now you've got coaches in place who are working at it.

This may be one of the strongest years in the MEAC. There are some pretty good mid-majors and these guys are beating them. It will be interesting.''

Coppin State, which features 2010 MEAC Pitcher of the Year Paige Arnold who was picked to win the award again this season, is tabbed to finish second in the Northern Division. Norfolk State was picked third and Howard fourth. Hampton and Morgan State tied for fifth place. Maryland Eastern Shore rounded out the northern division preseason predictions.

Norfolk State has had a pair of impressive victories, beating Army 8-0 and Delaware 4-3 in the Spartan Classic.

Florida A&M was picked to finish second in the Southern Division followed by South Carolina State and North Carolina A&T, who tied for third place. Savannah State and North Carolina Central complete the Southern Division preseason predictions.