The reigning Division II National Champions, Wake Forest Demon Deacons, are the unanimous #1 team in the Rawlings NCSA DII Preseason Top 10. Northern Michigan comes in at #2 after finishing as runners-up. Can someone dethrone the champs?
Where does your team rank in the Preseason Top 10? Click the link above to find out!
District III is home to the reigning Division II National Champions, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Led by returning World Series MVP, Maleah Lovell, the Demon Deacons will look to bring back-to-back World Series trophies. Winning 8 straight to close out the season, can they keep the streak alive? High Point was right on the heels of Wake Forest as the only team in the conference to beat them. Can the Panthers make a run to the World Series or will another team make a push?
District IV is equally as tough. Northern Michigan and Saginaw Valley State were the top two teams in conference play and will look each look to make their own run again. Northern Michigan is no stranger to the postseason and will look to get revenge against Wake Forest. Saginaw Valley will look to dethrone NMU as District Champions and make their own run at a National Title. Who will come out of District IV?
Click here for the District I Team Previews and District II Team Previews !
District I features 3 very competitive conferences, with 9 of the 16 teams having a record of .500 or above last season. Sacred Heart is looking to defend their title as District Champions, but with a tough District they will have their hands full. Quinnipiac, Rutgers, or Merrimack are all looking to make it back to the District Tournament. Will one of them knock off the Pioneers or will a new contender emerge?
District II is equally as competitive, with 9 of 15 teams finishing .500 or above in 2026. Villanova earned their spot in the District Tournament as an at-large bid and fought their way to a District Championship and Clinched a spot in the World Series. Salisbury, Towson, and Rowan are right on their heels and looking for revenge this season.
Click here for the District I Team Previews and District II Team Previews !
The University of Idaho has officially joined the NCSA for the 2026-2027 season! The NCSA is excited to welcome the Vandals as the seventh new team to join for the ’26-’27 season.
If your team is interested in joining the NCSA for next season, contact Alec Verhoff today!
The NCSA held their Annual League Meeting on Facebook LIVE on Tuesday, August 11th. Lot’s of great information was discussed and great questions were asked. If you were unable to join us LIVE for the meeting, not to worry! Watch the Recorded Version HERE and download the NCSA Presentation Slides HERE.
Click HERE to download the 2026 NCSA Annual League Meeting Slides to follow along. These are great to save, so you can reference later!
The NCSA would like to congratulate Ellen Edwards from Ohio University on being awarded the 2026 Savannah Ahrens Sportsmanship Award. The Savannah Ahrens Sportsmanship Award, given yearly, is an honor bestowed to a student-athlete who has distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior.
The Ohio University Club Softball Team nominated Ellen and this is what they had to say:
“Ellen truly has a dedication and love for this team like no other. She cares so deeply for all of our players and the girls we play against. Her love of the sport and the environment radiates off of her anytime we play, practice, or whenever I have one on one meetings with her to gameplan. She singlehandedly has turned this team into unknown and unranked to being the first team in school history to make it to nationals. This success didn’t necessarily come from more practices or better strategizing, I believe it came from the energy that she created on this team.
My own personal experience can attest to this. My freshman year on the team was a disaster. We were under a different president and to say I disliked playing would be an understatement. It got to the point where I was on the verge of quitting halfway through the year. I powered through it though in hopes that it would get better as I loved the sport so deeply. It wasn’t until Ellen became president that I really grew to love this team and sport again. She grew my confidence back up and made me realize that I didn’t have to compete with my teammates to have a role on this team. I know from talking to multiple other girls in my year that they experienced the same thing. Ellen inspires a self-assurance in our players and creates a fun, exciting environment that grows comradery and a team that feels a lot like family. She builds our players up instead of tearing them down for mistakes.
Another thing I believe worth mentioning is the way that she handles adversities and problems within the team. Like any competitive team, we had a couple of girls not happy with their playing time. I’ve seen first-hand the maturity Ellen brings to conversations brought up by these girls. She is extremely upfront with them while still listening to their feelings. Though she stands by her beliefs regarding how she runs the team, she always offers solutions to the problem at hand. This is one of the biggest things I would like to learn from her and take with me as I’m leading the team this upcoming year.
If you had told freshman year me I had been vice president, let alone going to be president, her jaw would’ve hit the ground. Though I hold these accomplishments to myself, I can say with full confidence if it had not been for Ellen I would’ve never gotten to the position I hold today. I would be happy if I was half the leader she was during her time on the team which is why I believe she deserves this award.“
In addition to excelling on the field, the NCSA would like to recognize the players that excelled academically in the classroom as well! Congratulations to all those who were named to the NCSA Academic All-American Team!
Robert Morris University and Dickinson College have officially joined the NCSA for the 2026-2027 season! The NCSA is excited to welcome the Colonials and Red Devils as the fifth and sixth new teams to join for the ’26-’27 season.
If your team is interested in joining the NCSA for next season, contact Alec Verhoff today!
CollClubSports is proud to announce the promotion of Ryan Lancaster to Director of Swing into Spring-West.
Since joining the organization full-time in the summer of 2025, Ryan has quickly established himself as a valuable member of the CollClubSports Front Office. A former club baseball player at Indiana University, Ryan brings a unique perspective to the role, having experienced Swing into Spring firsthand as both a participant and an event administrator. Most recently, he helped oversee the 2026 Swing into Spring-West event in Henderson, Nevada, giving him invaluable insight into the event’s operations and opportunities for growth.
Ryan’s experience from both the player and administrative sides of the event positions him to continue enhancing the Swing into Spring-West experience for teams across the country. In his new role, he will work closely with Antonio Sacca, Director of Swing into Spring-East, to collaborate on new ideas, share best practices, and ensure both events continue to provide an outstanding experience for NCBA & NCSA teams.
Congratulations to Ryan on this well-deserved promotion!
