LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Unbeaten Virginia Wesleyan and one-loss Trine kept rolling to strengthen their grip on the top two spots in the NFCA/GoRout Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll, the Association announced on Tuesday.
The No. 1 (18-0) Marlins and second-ranked (13-1) Thunder were the last two teams standing last season, in reverse order, with Trine winning its second NCAA title in the past three years by beating three-time winner Virginia Wesleyan (2017, 2018, 2021) in the best-of-three championship series last June.
Trine was the top team in the poll the first two weeks of this season, before a 6-4 ranked loss to Berry on March 7 at the NFCA Division III Leadoff presented by MaxBP allowed the Marlins to overtake them for the No. 1 position three weeks ago. Since then, the two teams have combined for 18 straight wins, including 14 over a 14-day span for Virginia Wesleyan.
The Marlins play a doubleheader at Randolph later today, while Trine is also in action, traveling to Ohio Northern.
The rankings shift significantly after those first two, with No. 4 Saint Mary’s (14-2) the only other team holding its poll spot from last week before getting to Chapman (20-5) at No. 18. Husson (13-1) is the fifth of the five unchanged teams at No. 22. Linfield (18-2) is the new No. 3 squad after gaining four spots, while Texas Lutheran (21-3), which had been third, slipped to fifth after a ranked twinbill split with Tufts (11-3).
This week’s new team really isn’t a newcomer after all. Perennial poll regular Central (15-1) makes its 2026 debut at No. 20 after running its win streak to 12 with eight more victories over the past week. That included NFCA Hall of Famer George Wares’ Division III-record 1,300th career triumph during the Dutch’s Florida trip.
Two other head coaches in the poll reached milestones this week. Chapman’s Janet Lloyd became the 20th coach in Division III history to achieve 800 wins when her Panthers won the first game of a doubleheader sweep of Elmhurst on Monday. She ranks eighth in victories among active coaches in the division. Meanwhile, Kevin Griffin of No. 21 Belhaven scored his 500th triumph in the Blazers’ sweep of Wesleyan on Saturday.
Just over two weeks ago, Linfield coach Jackson Vaughan got the milestone spring going by tying Hall of Fame Saint Mary’s coach John Tschida for quickest to 900 wins with a March 8 victory at George Fox.
The NFCA/GoRout Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll is selected by 10 NCAA Division III head coaches representing the 10 NCAA regions. Current 2026 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA/GoRout Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll – March 24, 2026
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
2026 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Virginia Wesleyan (10) |
250 |
18-0 |
1 |
|
2 |
Trine |
240 |
13-1 |
2 |
|
3 |
Linfield |
230 |
18-2 |
7 |
|
4 |
Saint Mary’s (Minn.) |
220 |
14-2 |
4 |
|
5 |
Texas Lutheran |
210 |
21-3 |
3 |
|
6 |
East Texas Baptist |
200 |
21-3 |
8 |
|
7 |
Redlands |
190 |
18-4 |
10 |
|
8 |
Huntingdon |
180 |
19-4 |
9 |
|
9 |
Berry |
170 |
16-5 |
5 |
|
10 |
Rowan |
160 |
14-4 |
16 |
|
11 |
Tufts |
150 |
11-3 |
17 |
|
12 |
WashU |
140 |
13-3-1 |
6 |
|
13 |
Simpson |
130 |
15-2 |
12 |
|
14 |
St. Thomas (Houston) |
120 |
18-5 |
11 |
|
15 |
Wisconsin-Whitewater |
110 |
11-4 |
14 |
|
16 |
Christopher Newport |
100 |
15-5 |
15 |
|
17 |
Case Western Reserve |
90 |
12-5 |
19 |
|
18 |
Chapman |
80 |
20-5 |
18 |
|
19 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
70 |
11-3 |
13 |
|
20 |
Central (Iowa) |
60 |
15-1 |
NR |
|
21 |
Belhaven |
48 |
20-7 |
20 |
|
22 |
Husson |
37 |
13-1 |
22 |
|
23 |
DePauw |
26 |
10-4 |
21 |
|
24 |
Emory |
16 |
13-8 |
23 |
|
25 |
Eastern |
11 |
11-3 |
25 |
Others receiving votes: Transylvania 5, Muhlenberg 4, Stockton 2, MIT 1.
Dropped out: Randolph-Macon.
2026 NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee
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