LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Unbeaten Virginia Wesleyan heads into Thursday’s NCAA tournament opener riding a 45-game win streak and as the No. 1 team in the NFCA/GoRout Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll for a 10th straight week.
The top-seeded Marlins, who lead the nation in both hitting (.410 team average) and pitching (0.63 staff ERA) will host John Jay in their first regional contest. Pfeiffer and Manhattanville are the other two teams playing at Broyles Field this week.
Virginia Wesleyan (45-0) won its record 17th Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament title on Saturday at home and is guaranteed to remain in the commonwealth of Virginia for the entirety of its NCAA tournament run.
Meanwhile, Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association titlist Trine (32-4) dropped to fourth this week after trading run-rule games with fellow conference finalist Calvin in that tournament. The Knights shocked Trine, 9-1 in five innings, last Friday to force a second winner-take-all final, which the Thunder won just 7-5, which was drastically different than their earlier tournament meeting, which the reigning Division III national champions won handily, 21-4, on the strength of a program-record seven home runs.
Redlands (38-4) leapfrogged both Trine and No. 3 Texas Lutheran (38-4) to become the new No. 2 team, while Linfield, East Texas Baptist and WashU all stayed put in spots 5-7.
The result of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference final shifted both champion Saint Benedict (33-9) and runner-up Saint Mary’s (36-6). The Bennies moved up to 19th with their first conference playoff championship, while the Cardinals slipped three places to 11th with the loss.
The 28 teams ranked or receiving votes represent 44 percent of the 64-team NCAA tournament field. Regionals at 16 sites are scheduled for this Thursday through Saturday, with winners advancing to one of eight Super Regional locations next week (May 21-22). The remaining eight teams will play in the Division III Finals on May 28-June 3 at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va.
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 – May 12, 2026
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
2026 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Virginia Wesleyan (10) |
250 |
45-0 |
1 |
|
2 |
Redlands |
240 |
38-4 |
4 |
|
3 |
Texas Lutheran |
230 |
38-4 |
3 |
|
4 |
Trine |
220 |
32-4 |
2 |
|
5 |
Linfield |
210 |
37-6 |
5 |
|
6 |
East Texas Baptist |
200 |
37-4 |
6 |
|
7 |
WashU |
190 |
28-5-1 |
7 |
|
8 |
Belhaven |
180 |
37-9 |
9 |
|
9 |
Simpson |
170 |
34-5 |
10 |
|
10 |
WPI |
160 |
42-3 |
12 |
|
11 |
Saint Mary’s (Minn.) |
150 |
36-6 |
8 |
|
12 |
Mount Union |
140 |
29-6 |
11 |
|
13 |
Huntingdon |
130 |
31-10 |
13 |
|
14 |
Swarthmore |
120 |
33-8 |
15 |
|
15 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
110 |
30-8-1 |
14 |
|
16 |
Rowan |
100 |
36-8 |
17 |
|
17 |
Stockton |
90 |
30-7 |
18 |
|
18 |
Tufts |
80 |
30-10 |
16 |
|
19 |
Saint Benedict |
70 |
33-9 |
20 |
|
20 |
Husson |
60 |
36-4 |
19 |
|
21 |
Westfield State |
50 |
38-1 |
21 |
|
22 |
Pacific Lutheran |
40 |
34-10 |
22 |
|
23 |
Wartburg |
20 |
31-10 |
23 |
|
24 |
Rochester |
16 |
35-8 |
24 |
|
25 |
Middlebury |
9 |
33-8 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: MIT 8, Manhattanville 6, and St. Thomas (Houston) 1.
Dropped out: Calvin, Colby and Muhlenberg.
2026 NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee
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