LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team will begin the season ranked 20th in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association/Go Rout Division III Top-25 Preseason Poll announced Tuesday, Feb. 3.
Last year's national champion, Trine, topped the poll with 250 points behind all 10 first-place votes. Virginia Wesleyan (240), Linfield (230), Redland (220), and Saint Mary's (Minn.) (210) ranked second through fifth, respectively.
The Titans enter the 2026 season after posting a 35-9 record a year ago. IWU rolled through the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season, 16-0, becoming the first league champion to post a perfect record across a 16-game schedule. The Green and White went on to secure the CCIW Tournament Championship before winning the Bloomington, Ill. regional to advance to a Super Regional for the first time since 2019.
Illinois Wesleyan is scheduled to play Illinois College Saturday, Feb. 21, to begin the season at Inspiration Field. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
WBCA NCAA Division III Coaches' Poll — Feb. 3, 2026
|
Rank
|
School (record)
|
Total
Points
|
Last Week's Rank
|
First-Place Votes
|
|
1
|
NYU (18-0)
|
250
|
1
|
10
|
|
2
|
Scranton (19-0)
|
240
|
2
|
0
|
|
3
|
UW-Oshkosh (19-0)
|
228
|
3
|
0
|
|
4
|
Johns Hopkins (18-0)
|
218
|
4
|
0
|
|
5
|
Washington and Lee (19-0)
|
209
|
5
|
0
|
|
6
|
Smith (18-1)
|
202
|
6
|
0
|
|
7
|
Bowdoin (17-1)
|
192
|
7
|
0
|
|
8
|
Baldwin-Wallace (18-2)
|
165
|
10
|
0
|
|
9
|
Ohio Wesleyan (17-1)
|
158
|
11
|
0
|
|
10
|
John Carroll (17-2)
|
153
|
12
|
0
|
|
11
|
UW-Whitewater (15-4)
|
149
|
9
|
0
|
|
12
|
Bates (18-2)
|
141
|
13
|
0
|
|
13
|
Hope (17-3)
|
133
|
8
|
0
|
|
14
|
Denison (18-1)
|
125
|
14
|
0
|
|
15
|
Ripon (18-2)
|
101
|
16
|
0
|
|
16
|
Washington-St. Louis (14-4)
|
95
|
17
|
0
|
|
17t
|
Chicago (13-4)
|
77
|
19
|
0
|
|
17t
|
William Patterson (19-1)
|
77
|
18
|
0
|
|
19
|
Christopher Newport (16-4)
|
69
|
21
|
0
|
|
20
|
Illinois Wesleyan (15-5)
|
54
|
22
|
0
|
|
21
|
Carroll, WI (16-4)
|
43
|
23
|
0
|
|
22
|
Trine (17-3)
|
35
|
24
|
0
|
|
23
|
Emory (12-5)
|
31
|
15
|
0
|
|
24t
|
Southern Maine (19-1)
|
26
|
25
|
0
|
|
24t
|
SUNY-Cortland (16-3)
|
26
|
20
|
0
|
Dropped out: None.
Others receiving votes: Linfield (16-2) 17; Shenandoah (14-5) 10; Hardin-Simmons (16-3) 8; Concordia-Moorhead (16-3) 6; Texas Lutheran (13-5) 3; Amherst (15-5) 2; Brooklyn (16-3) 2; Colorado Coll. (15-4) 2; UW-Platteville (15-4) 2; Carnegie Mellon (11-6) 1.
The WBCA NCAA Division III Coaches Poll Committee is composed of one head coach from each of the 10 NCAA Division III regions. The committee for the 2025-26 season: Samantha Crough, Regis (MA); Brad Fischer, UW-Oshkosh; Eric Harrison, Lehman; Jasen Jonus, Oglethorpe; Melissa Kolbe, Wittenberg; Casey Kushiyama, Puget Sound; Bobbi Morgan, Ursinus; Mia Smith, Illinois Wesleyan; Daphne Thompson, SUNY Oneonta; Kelly Thompson, Roger Williams.
