LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Redlands, which captured its first national championship in just its second World Series appearance, was the runaway winner of the 2026 ATEC/NFCA NCAA Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year award, the Association revealed on Friday.
The top-ranked (48-6) Bulldogs made their second straight trip to the finals this year under the direction of head coach Jose Ortega and assistants Kaitlyn Hooper-Bell, Andrew Aguilera and Cassandra Mittman. They won their final seven contests of the season, and went 5-0 at the finals site in Salem, Va.
That included a sweep of defending national champion Trine — a finalist in four of the last five seasons, and winner of titles in 2023 and 2025 — in the best-of-three championship series, with two-time NFCA All-American Utility/Pitcher Katlyn Gandara named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Overall, Redlands won 10 of 12 games in the NCAA tournament — all on the road — after winning the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament in their final home contest of the season on May 10. For the season, the Bulldogs were 22-2 away from their campus.
The 10 Division III coaching staffs announced as regional winners on May 28 were Colby (Region I), UMass Dartmouth (Region II), Rochester (Region III), Stockton (Region IV), Muhlenberg (Region V), Virginia Wesleyan (Region VI), Mount Union (Region VII), WashU (Region VIII), Simpson (Region IX) and Texas Lutheran (Region X).
Three of this year’s regional recipients — Mount Union, Simpson and Virginia Wesleyan — competed alongside Redlands at the Division III World Series at James I. Moyer Park.
By rule, the national champion is added to the ballot if not already recognized as an ATEC/NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honoree. Regional (respective region only) and National Coaching Staffs of the Year are voted on by NFCA-member head coaches.
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