Softball to Begin NCAA Tournament in Waverly Regional

Titans to face host No. 23 Wartburg at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14

5/11/2026 12:24:00 PM

INDIANAPOLIS - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team will begin NCAA Tournament play Thursday, May 14, as part of the Waverly Regional hosted by No. 23 Wartburg College. The four-team, three-day regional will feature No. 4 University of Redlands and Dominican University alongside the Titans and Knights as announced by the NCAA Monday, May 11. The full 64-team interactive bracket can be found here.

Redlands and DU will begin the weekend with an 11 a.m. first pitch Thursday, May 14. IWU and Wartburg will follow at 1:30 p.m. The winners will square off Friday, May 15, at 11 a.m. with an elimination game set for 2:30 p.m. The final game of day two will be contested at 4 p.m. The regional championship features an 11 a.m. first pitch Saturday, May 16.

Illinois Wesleyan, which will make its 22nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament, enters the tournament with a 28-13 overall record after running through the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. The Titans claimed the CCIW Regular Season Championship with a 15-1 record, before taking their third straight CCIW Tournament Title, May 9.

IWU was the lone CCIW school to make the 64-team field. The Titans have played games against six teams in the tournament, posting a combined 5-7 record against No. 9 Belhaven, Calvin, Illinois College, No. 10 Simpson, No. 14 UW-Oshkosh, and 23rd-ranked Wartburg.

Forty-two conferences received an automatic qualification. The 22 remaining teams were selected on an at-large basis from automatic qualifying conferences.

The winner of this weekend's regional will advance to the super regional Thursday-Friday, May 21-22. The NCAA Division III Softball Championship is slated for May 28-June 3 in Salem, Va.

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