LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Reigning national champion Trine University continues as the unanimous No. 1 team in the NFCA/GoRout Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll, the Association announced on Tuesday.
The Thunder, which captured their second national championship in three seasons last year, won twice yesterday in Florida to improve to 6-0 and run its win streak to 19 straight games. Trine’s last loss was an 8-7 setback to Adrian on May 8 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament. After that, Trine won three straight games to capture that title, and then was a perfect 10-0 in the NCAA postseason.
Division III runner-up Virginia Wesleyan, a three-time NCAA champion, continues in the No. 2 spot, after sweeping North Carolina Wesleyan last week to open its 2026 campaign. The Marlins have their annual rivalry twinbill with No. 9 Christopher Newport slated for Wednesday at home.
Linfield (4-0) is still locked in at third, following an unbeaten start that includes a Feb. 27 sweep of then-No. 4 Redlands. Saint Mary’s (8-0), Texas Lutheran (10-1), Rowan (0-0), Redlands (7-3), East Texas Baptist (8-0), Christopher Newport (3-1), Wisconsin-Whitewater (0-0) complete this week’s top 10.
Moravian (1-1), which split with new No. 9 Christopher Newport, gained one spot, to 11th, from its preseason ranking. In all, 13 teams improved their standing from the first 2026 poll on Feb. 3.
Seven ranked squads — Trine, Saint Mary’s, East Texas Baptist, No. 13 Emory, No. 14 Huntingdon, No. 23 Berry and No. 24 Belhaven — will be in the same location later this week, when the 22-team NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic presented by MaxBP is played March 6-8 at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga. Those seven are a combined 47-7 so far this season.
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 3, 2026
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
2026 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Trine (10) |
250 |
6-0 |
1 |
|
2 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
240 |
2-0 |
2 |
|
3 |
Linfield |
230 |
4-0 |
3 |
|
4 |
Saint Mary’s (Minn.) |
220 |
8-0 |
5 |
|
5 |
Texas Lutheran |
210 |
10-1 |
8 |
|
6 |
Rowan |
200 |
0-0 |
6 |
|
7 |
Redlands |
190 |
7-3 |
4 |
|
8 |
East Texas Baptist |
180 |
8-0 |
9 |
|
9 |
Christopher Newport |
170 |
3-1 |
10 |
|
10 |
Wisconsin-Whitewater |
160 |
0-0 |
11 |
|
11 |
Moravian |
150 |
1-1 |
12 |
|
12 |
Randolph-Macon |
140 |
4-2 |
7 |
|
13 |
Emory |
130 |
5-1 |
15 |
|
14 |
Huntingdon |
120 |
8-1 |
16 |
|
15 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
110 |
4-0 |
17 |
|
16 |
St. Thomas (Texas) |
100 |
9-2 |
19 |
|
17 |
Simpson |
90 |
4-0 |
21 |
|
18 |
WashU |
80 |
6-0 |
24 |
|
19 |
Chapman |
70 |
9-3 |
23 |
|
20 |
Case Western Reserve |
48 |
4-0 |
NR |
|
21 |
Wisconsin-Stevens Point |
41 |
4-2 |
13 |
|
22 |
Williams |
40 |
0-0 |
22 |
|
23 |
Berry |
32 |
7-1 |
NR |
|
24 |
Belhaven |
31 |
5-4 |
14 |
|
25 |
Salisbury |
15 |
2-2 |
18 |
Others receiving votes: Central and Swarthmore.
Dropped out: Illinois Wesleyan, Ithaca, Messiah and Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
2026 NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee
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