LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Reigning national champion Trine is the unanimous choice as the top-ranked team in the 2024 preseason NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Thunder captured their first Division III softball championship by defeating Salisbury in the best-of-three NCAA championship series last June at East Texas Baptist’s Bell Park at Taylor Field. Trine (46-6) defeated top-ranked Salisbury twice on the final day for the crown, including 1-0 in the winner-take-all series finale.
Trine, which had been runner-up to first-time titlist Christopher Newport in 2022, had to stave off elimination all week to reach a second-straight finals series, after falling to Rowan, 11-4, in their Texas opener. The Thunder rattled off four consecutive victories before losing the first game of the championship series, 4-2, to Salisbury.
The (49-6) Sea Gulls, meanwhile, had been the nation’s No. 1 team for 10 straight weeks heading into the NCAA tournament, but were one loss from being ousted all week in the double-elimination finals after dropping their opener there, 4-1, to Moravian. Salisbury won four games in three days — including beating then No. 3-ranked Berry twice to reach the championship series.
It was the fourth runner-up finish and 11th finals appearance in school history for the Sea Gulls.
Those two squads top a first 11 that is unchanged from last year’s final ranking. The eight NCAA finals participants comprise the top eight, followed by half of the 2023 super regional teams in spots 9-12.
All of the final 13 teams in this initial ranking competed in at least the NCAA regionals, with No. 17 MIT, No. 19 Lebanon Valley, 23rd-ranked Concordia and No. 25 Hiram all reaching the super-regional round.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll is selected by 10 NCAA Division III head coaches representing the 10 NCAA regions. Final 2023 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll – Feb. 6, 2024
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
2023 Record |
|
1 |
Trine (10) |
250 |
46-6 |
|
2 |
Salisbury |
240 |
49-6 |
|
3 |
Berry |
230 |
43-7 |
|
4 |
Coe |
220 |
39-11 |
|
5 |
Rowan |
210 |
42-10 |
|
6 |
Moravian |
200 |
38-12 |
|
7 |
Linfield |
190 |
46-6 |
|
8 |
Christopher Newport |
180 |
31-13 |
|
9 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
170 |
39-13 |
|
10 |
Randolph-Macon |
160 |
43-11 |
|
11 |
Bethel |
150 |
36-5 |
|
12 |
Belhaven |
140 |
32-13 |
|
13 |
Case Western Reserve |
130 |
38-5 |
|
14 |
Tufts |
120 |
40-6 |
|
15 |
Texas Lutheran |
110 |
40-8 |
|
16 |
East Texas Baptist |
100 |
39-7 |
|
17 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
90 |
36-8 |
|
18 |
Rochester |
80 |
38-9 |
|
19 |
Lebanon Valley |
70 |
36-12 |
|
20 |
Transylvania |
60 |
34-11 |
|
21 |
Central (Iowa) |
50 |
33-11 |
|
22 |
The College of New Jersey |
40 |
32-11 |
|
23 |
Concordia (Wis.) |
30 |
40-5 |
|
24 |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
20 |
32-11 |
|
25 |
Hiram |
10 |
27-16 |
2024 NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee
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