LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Eight programs, six of which reached the NCAA Division II National Championship, were selected by their peers as the 2026 ATEC/NFCA Regional Coaching Staffs of the Year, the Association announced on Friday.
Representing each of the NFCA’s eight Division II regions, these respective coaching staffs – Glenville State University (Atlantic), Missouri Southern State University (Central), St. Thomas Aquinas College (East), University of Indianapolis (Midwest), Saint Leo University (South), Oklahoma Christian University (South Central), University of North Georgia (Southeast) and California State University San Marcos (West) - are now eligible for the NFCA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year award, which will be announced on June 15.
Glenville State, Missouri Southern, STAC, Saint Leo, North Georgia and Cal State San Marcos are currently competing for a DII National Championship at Frost Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Regional (respective region only) and National Coaching Staffs of the Year are voted on by member head coaches.
Regional Winners (Records prior to National Championship Tournament)
Atlantic – Glenville State
Head Coach: Sara Scoone
Assistant Coaches: Tim White
Graduate Assistant: Makenna Negley
Historic season which includes a trip to its first-ever Division II Women’s College World Series as the No. 7 overall seed … Enters with a program-best 51 wins (51-16) after eclipsing 40 victories for the first time … Captured first-ever regional and super regional titles as the Atlantic’s four seed .. Won four straight elimination games, including one over the No. 1 seed and host Shippensburg to in the Atlantic Regional 1 … Went on the road again and knocked off No. 3 seed Kutztown in three games … Won the program’s first Mountain East Conference tournament in first championship game appearance
Central – Missouri Southern
Head Coach: Hallie Blackney
Associate Head Coach: Lexi Kinnaird
Graduate Assistant: Caitlyn Wells
Returns to the Division II Women’s College World Series for the first time since 1992 with a program-best 53-8 record and the No. 2 overall seed … The win total surpassed the previous mark of 52 set in 2001 … Bounced back from an opening-game defeat against Central Oklahoma to win its first-ever Super Regional … Swept through regionals as the No. 1 seed … Captured both the MIAA’s regular season and tournament titles Ranked nationally in the NFCA/GoRout DII Top 25 Coaches Poll all season, reaching as high as No. 3 (program best) and currently No. 5 at the end of the regular season … Recognized as the MIAA Coaching Staff of the Year.
East – St. Thomas Aquinas
Head Coach: Kristen Sullivan
Assistant Coaches: Bill Madden, Carlos Soto, Tara Hagan, Sarah Clancy
Volunteer Assistants: Penny Roberts, Kyle Sullivan
Turning in the most successful season in the program’s 47-year history, advancing to its first-ever Division II Women’s College World Series as the No. 8 overall seed … Entered the D2 Championships riding a Division II-best 23-game winning streak … Program-record 38 wins (38-12), .760 winning percentage and 18 East Coast Conference regular-season victories … In STAC’s first-ever Super Regional, it rallied with a five-run eighth inning against Assumption to earn its World Series trip … Swept through the East Regional 1 as the No. 3 seed, which included two wins over host and No. 2 seed Adelphi … Swept the ECC’s regular season and conference tournament titles.
Midwest – UIndy
Head Coach: Melissa Frost
Assistant Coach: Ben Ferell
Volunteer Assistant: Amanda Demmerle, Faith Muterspaugh
Advanced to the program’s fourth straight Super Regional as the Midwest’s No. 1 seed … Finished with a 59-7 record, one shy of the program record … Swept through the Midwest Regional 1, before suffering a pair of one-run defeats to McKendree in Super Regionals … Reached 50 wins in the regular season for the first time in program history … Ranked nationally in the NFCA/GoRout DII Top 25 Coaches Poll all season, reaching as high as No. 2, their ranking entering the postseason … Captured the program’s 10th Great Lakes Valley Conference regular-season title … Frost was named GLVC Coach of the Year for the ninth time.
South – Saint Leo
Head Coach: Erin Kinberger
Assistant Coaches: Zack Carver, Lexi Carver, Pat Affrunti
No. 1 overall seed at the NCAA Division II Women’s College World Series … Heads to Chattanooga with a program-best 49-3-1 record and the top winning percentage in DII softball at .934 (second best across the three divisions) … Ranked No. 1 in the NFCA/GoRout DII Top 25 Coaches Poll for the final five weeks of the regular season, their first No. 1 ranking in program history … Swept through Regionals and Super Regionals, allowing just five runs over five games … Owned a historic 38-game wins streak during the regular season, not losing a single game in the months of March and April … Set a new mark with a 29-1 Sunshine State Conference record, running away with the regular-season title by eight games … Kinberger was voted SSC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
South Central – Oklahoma Christian
Head Coach: Shalee Rodriguez
Assistant Coaches: Bailey McKittrick, Sydney Sherrill
Graduate Assistants: Kristen Whitehouse, Sammie Greene
Knocked off the region’s top overall seed Colorado Christian to advance to the program’s second Super Regional in three seasons … Swept the regional with two wins over the Cougars and one against UT Tyler, the two-time defending national champions … Took the region’s No. 2 seed West Texas A&M to three games, winning the game two to force a winner-take-all contest … Set a Division II program record with 43 wins (43-16) … Ranked nationally in the NFCA/GoRout DII Top 25 Coaches Poll all season, reaching as high as No. 12 and finishing the regular season at No. 22.
Southeast – North Georgia
Head Coach: Brooke O’Hair
Assistant Coaches: Darren Harmon, Alea Medina
Graduate Assistants: Hannah Stevens, Hannah Forehand
Advanced to their second straight Women’s College World Series appearance under O’Hair and is the No. 3 overall seed … Rallied from a regional-opening defeat against Lincoln Memorial to win four consecutive elimination games and advance to the program’s 15th Super Regional … Swept the Southeast’s No. 2 seed Francis Marion in Super Regionals … Heads to Chattanooga with a 51-9 record, the 10th time the program has eclipsed 50 wins … Regular season (12th straight) and tournament champions (15th overall) … O’Hair was named PBC Coach of the Year … Ranked in the top eight of the NFCA/GoRout DII Top 25 Coaches Poll all season, reaching as high as No. 3, which was their final ranking of the regular season.
West – Cal State San Marcos
Head Coach: A.J. Robinson
Assistant Coach: Alyssa Razo
Volunteer Assistant: Haylee DeJong
First Division II Women’s College World Series appearance under Robinson and second in the last three seasons (Robinson was an assistant coach on the 2024 squad) … No. 4 overall seed in Chattanooga … Went 3-1 as the West’s top seed in Regionals, knocking off Cal State Dominguez Hills in the winner-take-all game … Rebounded from a game-one loss to Biola to win games two and three to collect the West Region title … Matched the program record with 55 wins (55-10) and captured the California Collegiate Athletic Association’s regular season crown … Robinson was voted CCAA Coach of the Year … Earned the program’s first-ever No. 1 ranking in the NFCA/GoRout DII Top 25 Coaches Poll and was ranked fourth or higher all season, ending the regular season in that position.
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