LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Reigning national champion East Texas Baptist and runner-up Belhaven lead another elite field for the 2025 NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic, which will be held Feb. 28-March 2 at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga.
Five of the eight schools that reached last season’s NCAA Division III World Series at Bell Park at Taylor Field in Marshall, Texas, are in the three-day, 24-team showcase of the country’s top programs. Case Western Reserve, 2024 Leadoff titlist Linfield and Tufts are the other three. Tufts is the only team among that group of five that is playing in the Leadoff for the first time.
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All three days of the tournament feature World Series teams playing each other, starting on day one when Case Western faces East Texas Baptist at 5:30 p.m.
Both Linfield and Tufts have two matchups with fellow World Series teams on the second day. Linfield plays Case and Tufts takes on East Texas Baptist at 3 p.m., then Linfield and Tufts face each other at 5:30 p.m.
On the final day, Case Western finishes with two World Series teams. The Spartans play Tufts at 9 a.m. and battle Belhaven at 11 a.m. Also in that first block of games, the last two NCAA national champions will square off, with 2023 titlist Trine taking on current champ East Texas Baptist.
While these matchups may receive the most attention, the tournament is filled with other teams that achieved a lot in 2024 and are looking for even more this coming season. Fourteen of the 24 squads played in the NCAA Regionals and six reached the Super Regionals, with the aforementioned five advancing to the final eight.
One of the regional teams, DePauw, made a particular habit of beating top teams last season, defeating eight teams ranked in the NFCA Top 25 and tying another. Other regional teams in the field are Gettysburg, Huntingdon, Pfeiffer, Redlands, Saint Benedict, St. John Fisher, Trine (which lost to Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the Super Regionals) and Wartburg.
The remaining 10 teams combined to average 20.7 victories a year ago. Those schools are Alma, Denison, LaGrange, LeTourneau, Pacific Lutheran, Piedmont, Spalding, Stevens, UChicago and Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Games on all fields will be available to watch live for free each day via the complex’s video feed. All teams are scheduled to play six games in the tournament, with two games each day.
This will be the fourth straight Division III Leadoff held at the South Commons Softball Complex.
The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded Leadoff Classic tournaments, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from webinars to awards, to in-person and virtual events, and a National Convention.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining over 7,000 coaches today!