LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Thirty-two elite teams are poised to compete in the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic on March 2-4 at the Lincoln Park complex in Tucson, Ariz.

Defending NCAA Division III national champion Virginia Wesleyan and 2017 runner-up St. John Fisher head the field, which includes 31 teams that played in their conference tournament last season. Of those teams, 21 qualified for the NCAA tournament, nine reached the NCAA Super Regionals and five advanced to the eight-team NCAA Championship played for the first time in history last year at OGE Energy Field at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, longtime home to the NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series.

Teams will each play a pre-determined six-game schedule over the three days in Arizona, with a tournament champion and runner-up determined by overall performance during that span. Meanwhile, an all-tournament team will recognize one player from each of the 32 participating squads at the conclusion of the event.

Joining Virginia Wesleyan and St. John Fisher in the event are fellow NCAA Championship competitors Illinois Wesleyan, St. Catherine and Trine, plus Babson, Berry, Birmingham-Southern, Central, Christopher Newport, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Coe, DePauw, East Texas Baptist, Fontbonne, George Fox, Linfield, Manhattanville, Messiah, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Moravian, Otterbein, Pacific, Pacific Lutheran, Rochester, St. Thomas, Texas Lutheran, Thomas More, Whitworth, William Paterson, Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Wittenberg.

Check out the complete tournament schedule HERE