KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Lady Tigers secured 16 points to land in the "Receiving Votes" category of the final NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll of the 2026 season, released by the national office on Wednesday.
The 16 points represent a jump for Campbellsville (28-15, 12-6 MSC), who collected five points in the previous poll a few weeks ago. The upward trajectory perfectly mirrors the Lady Tigers' late-season momentum, which included massive conference sweeps and a hard-fought series against Mid-South Conference rival #10 Lindsey Wilson to close out the regular season.
Head Coach
Shannon Wathen's squad has built a national resume on the back of incredible balance. The Lady Tiger offense has been a nightmare for opposing pitchers, posting a collective .305 batting average with 335 hits and 250 runs scored.
The strength of the Mid-South Conference is highly apparent in the final regular-season installment. Lindsey Wilson, who won the MSC regular-season title, climbed one spot to crack the top 10 at #10 overall. The University of the Cumberlands, whom Campbellsville tied for second place in the final MSC standings, jumped one spot to #17.
Nationally, Madonna (Mich.) took over the #1 ranking following an impressive 43-4 campaign, narrowly edging out #2 Oregon Tech and #3 Southeastern (Fla.).
With the regular season officially in the books, the Lady Tigers now turn their complete attention to the postseason. Campbellsville will enter the Mid-South Conference Championship Tournament as the #3 seed. They are scheduled to open bracket play on Thursday, April 30, at 2:30 p.m. ET, facing the winner of the opening-round match-up between the Cumberland University Phoenix and the Bethel University Wildcats at Sparks Park in Columbia, Kentucky.
| TREND |
RANK |
LAST TIME |
|
INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] |
RECORD |
POINTS |
| ▲ |
1 |
3 |
 |
Madonna (Mich.) [5] |
43-4 |
485 |
| ▼ |
2 |
1 |
 |
Oregon Tech [10] |
40-6 |
481 |
| ▲ |
3 |
4 |
 |
Southeastern (Fla.) [2] |
41-5 |
477 |
| ▲ |
4 |
7 |
 |
Science and Arts (Okla.) |
44-8 |
438 |
| ▼ |
5 |
2 |
 |
Oklahoma City |
43-7 |
414 |
| ▼ |
T-6 |
5 |
 |
Eastern Oregon [1] |
37-9 |
405 |
| ● |
T-6 |
6 |
 |
Southern Oregon |
37-13 |
405 |
| ● |
8 |
8 |
 |
Missouri Baptist |
37-10 |
375 |
| ▲ |
9 |
10 |
 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
41-7 |
365 |
| ▲ |
10 |
11 |
 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
38-6 |
363 |
| ▼ |
11 |
9 |
 |
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
34-9 |
352 |
| ▲ |
12 |
13 |
 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
34-11 |
321 |
| ▼ |
13 |
12 |
 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
32-13 |
296 |
| ● |
14 |
14 |
 |
Evangel (Mo.) |
39-9 |
246 |
| ▲ |
15 |
16 |
 |
LSU Alexandria (La.) |
31-14 |
241 |
| ▼ |
16 |
15 |
 |
Grand View (Iowa) |
34-14 |
232 |
| ▲ |
17 |
18 |
 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
34-16 |
176 |
| ▲ |
18 |
19 |
 |
Coastal Georgia |
34-10 |
174 |
| ▲ |
19 |
21 |
 |
Texas A&M-Texarkana |
34-12 |
162 |
| ▼ |
20 |
17 |
 |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
34-15 |
152 |
| ▲ |
21 |
23 |
 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
37-12 |
132 |
| ▼ |
22 |
20 |
 |
Marian (Ind.) |
31-14 |
121 |
| ▲ |
23 |
RV |
 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
37-11 |
113 |
| ● |
24 |
24 |
 |
Midland (Neb.) |
36-12 |
110 |
| ▲ |
25 |
RV |
 |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
33-12 |
87 |
| Dropped from Top 25: St. Thomas (Fla.) and Tennessee Southern |
| Receiving Votes: St. Thomas (Fla.) 83; Benedictine (Kan.) 72; Tennessee Southern 49; Saint Francis (Ind.) 41; Arizona Christian 33; Dordt (Iowa) 31; College of Idaho 23; Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) 21; Campbellsville (Ky.) 16; St. Francis (Ill.) 15; British Columbia (B.C.) 12; Hope International (Calif.) 11; Indiana Tech 9; Ottawa (Kan.) 9; Williams Baptist (Ark.) 9; Georgia Gwinnett 8; Northwestern (Iowa) 4; Oklahoma Wesleyan 3 |
