LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Reigning national champion Trine tops another elite field for the 2026 NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic presented by MaxBP, which will be held March 6-8 at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Ga.
The Thunder swept Virginia Wesleyan in June’s best-of-three championship finals in Bloomington, Ill., to secure their second Division III title in the past three seasons, which was their third championship series appearance in the last four seasons (national runner-up in 2022). Trine, which won the Leadoff Classic crown in 2013, is one of three former tournament titlists in the 2026 field.
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Saint Mary’s, which joined Trine as one of the eight teams that advanced to the 2025 NCAA finals site, captured the inaugural Leadoff Classic in 2001 under NFCA Hall of Fame head coach John Tschida, fresh off winning the 2000 Division III title. Tschida also led St. Thomas to the 2007 Leadoff championship, a school with which he won back-to-back Division III national championships in 2004-05 over a stellar 21-season run. He returned to Saint Mary’s in 2023 after St. Thomas went Division I.
Two-time national champion East Texas Baptist (2010, 2024) is the other former Leadoff champion, having won the 2020 edition. The Tigers are one of 13 tournament teams that played in the NCAAs last season and one of 10 that captured their conference crown.
East Texas Baptist and Trine are two of 13 squads that competed in the 2025 Leadoff. Belhaven, Denison, DePauw, Gettysburg, Huntingdon, LaGrange, Pacific Lutheran, Pfeiffer, Saint Benedict, Spalding and Stevens are the others.
The remaining tournament teams are Berry, Bethel, Cortland, Emory, Maryville (Tenn.), Mount Union, Pomona-Pitzer and Transylvania.
All teams are scheduled to play six games in the tournament, with two games each day. This will be the fifth straight Division III Leadoff held at the South Commons Softball Complex.
The NFCA 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 podcasts to awards, to in-person events and National Convention.
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