LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Undefeated Linfield heads into the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed and top team again this week in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The (43-0) Wildcats won their sixth straight Northwest Conference tournament over the weekend, and will host Redlands in the one two-team regional of the 62-team NCAA tournament starting on Thursday. Linfield, which has won half (21) of its games this season by run rule, had two of its closest contests in a non-conference doubleheader sweep of the Bulldogs on March 27 in California. The Wildcats won game one 3-2 and took the second game 11-9.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Top 25 is filled with familiar faces, with a little shuffling, for the last poll until the final ranking is released on the Tuesday (June 11) following the completion of the championship. All of the 26 schools ranked will be participating in the NCAA tournament, with 13 regional hosts.
No. 2 East Texas Baptist (38-2), No. 3 Christopher Newport (30-5), fourth-ranked Trine (39-3) and No. 5 Salisbury (36-5) join Linfield in hosting regionals, while No. 7 Case Western (34-6) and eighth-ranked Virginia Wesleyan (35-8) will also do so among the top 10. No. 6 Berry (41-4) will be the top seed at the Huntingdon Regional, while No. 9 Texas Lutheran (31-3) is the second seed behind the host Tigers at the East Texas Baptist Regional, and No. 10 Belhaven (37-6) is the seeded second behind the host Bears at the WashU Regional.
Other regional hosts among the Top 25 are No. 13 Rowan (34-7), No. 14 Huntingdon (33-6), 16th-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh (39-4), No. 17 Tufts (32-7), No. 20 Husson (35-4) and 25th-ranked Central (29-10). Unranked DePauw, Moravian and WashU are also hosting four-team regionals.
NCAA regionals run this Thursday to Saturday, with 16 regional champions advancing to the super regional round next week (May 23-24). The remaining teams after that will head to Marshall, Texas, for the eight-team NCAA championship finals on May 30-June 5 at Bell Park at Taylor Field on the campus of East Texas Baptist.
Trine won its first national title at Bell Park last season, beating Salisbury in the final two games of the best-of-three NCAA championship series, after the Sea Gulls captured the opener.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll is selected by 10 NCAA Division III head coaches representing the 10 NCAA regions. Current records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
May 14, 2024
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
2024 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Linfield (10) |
250 |
43-0 |
1 |
|
2 |
East Texas Baptist |
240 |
38-2 |
2 |
|
3 |
Christopher Newport |
230 |
30-5 |
3 |
|
4 |
Trine |
220 |
39-3 |
5 |
|
5 |
Salisbury |
210 |
36-5 |
4 |
|
6 |
Berry |
200 |
41-4 |
6 |
|
7 |
Case Western Reserve |
190 |
34-6 |
7 |
|
8 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
180 |
35-8 |
8 |
|
9 |
Texas Lutheran |
170 |
31-3 |
9 |
|
10 |
Belhaven |
160 |
37-6 |
10 |
|
11 |
Randolph-Macon |
150 |
31-5-2 |
11 |
|
12 |
Pfeiffer |
140 |
43-2 |
13 |
|
13 |
Rowan |
130 |
34-7 |
15 |
|
14 |
Huntingdon |
120 |
33-6 |
14 |
|
15 |
Wisconsin-Whitewater |
110 |
32-8 |
RV |
|
16 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
100 |
39-4 |
12 |
|
17 |
Tufts |
90 |
32-7 |
17 |
|
18 |
Rochester |
80 |
30-7 |
RV |
|
19 |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
70 |
34-5-1 |
16 |
|
20 |
Husson |
60 |
35-4 |
20 |
|
21 |
Transylvania |
50 |
34-8 |
22 |
|
22 |
Bethel |
40 |
30-9 |
18 |
|
23 |
Wisconsin-Stevens Point |
30 |
32-7 |
19 |
|
24 |
Dominican |
20 |
38-6 |
23 |
|
T25 |
Calvin |
5 |
32-10 |
21 |
|
T25 |
Central |
5 |
29-10 |
24 |
Others receiving votes: None.
Dropped out: Mount Union, St. John Fisher and SUNY New Paltz.
2024 NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee
The NFCA is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded coaches polls and All-America awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to awards, to in-person events and National Convention.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining our lineup of over 7,000 coaches today!
