KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NAIA released the seeding and full bracket for the 2026 NAIA Softball National World Series on Friday afternoon. The Wildcats were named the No. 8 seed and will face a familiar foe in the No. 9 seed, the Marian University Knights, in the very first game of the tournament. The winner of that match on Thursday, May 21, will face the 1 seed, Madonna University on Friday, May 22nd. The Knights earned their way into the World Series after going 4-0 in the Hattiesburg, Mississippi bracket. IWU hopes for the rematch with Madonna as they faced the Crusaders at the beginning of the season, falling 7-2.
IWU reached this year's World Series after going undefeated in the Columbia, Ky. bracket of the Opening Round, with wins over No. 8 Missouri Baptist (6-4), No. 10 Lindsey Wilson (11-3), and Johnson University (10-2). This will be the 5th appearance in the NAIA Softball National World Series for Indiana Wesleyan and the first since 2022. The Wildcats have a 3-8 record across their four previous appearances with a win in each of 2012, 2018, and 2022.
This year's field features three former champions: Mobile, Our Lady of the Lake, and last year's winner, Southern Oregon, who has won four World Series since 2019. Marian punched a ticket to the World Series for the eighth time, and second in a row, while Madonna will be making it's seventh appearance. College of Idaho, Cumberlands (Ky.), and Southeastern are also veterans of the tournament, making their fifth, fourth, and third ever appearances respectively. British Columbia is the only team in the field that is making its first ever Softball World Series.
To view the full bracket from the NAIA, click HERE.
THE FIELD
The seeding order of the teams that will be competing in the 2026 NAIA Softball National World Series and which Opening Round Bracket they won are as follows:
- #1 Madonna University (Fayette, Missouri)
- #2 Southeastern University (Lakeland, Florida)
- #3 Southern Oregon University (Ashland, Oregon)
- #4 Mobile University (Mobile, Alabama)
- #5 Our Lady of the Lake (Klamath Falls, Oregon)
- #6 University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) (Williamsburg, Kentucky)
- #7 College of Idaho (Chickasha, Oklahoma)
- #8 Indiana Wesleyan University (Columbia, Kentucky)
- #9 Marian University (Hattiesburg, Mississippi)
- #10 University of British Columbia (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
THE SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 21, 2026
- Game 1: No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan vs. No. 9 Marian - 10:00 AM
- Game 2: No. 4 Mobile vs. No. 5 Our Lady of the Lake - 1:00 PM
- Game 3: No. 3 Southern Oregon vs. No. 6 Cumberlands (Ky.) - 4:00 PM
- Game 4: No. 7 College of Idaho vs. No. 10 British Columbia - 7:00 PM
Friday, May 22, 2026
- Game 5: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 10:00 AM
- Game 6: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser - 1:00 PM
- Game 7: No. 2 Southeastern vs. Game 4 winner - 4:00 PM
- Game 8: No. 1 Madonna vs. Game 1 winner - 7:00 PM
Saturday, May 23, 2026
- Game 9: Game 7 Loser vs. Game 5 Winner - 10:00 AM
- Game 10: Game 8 Loser vs. Game 6 Winner - 1:00 PM
- Game 11: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 4:00 PM
- Game 12: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner - 7:00 PM
Monday, May 25, 2026
- Game 13: Game 12 Loser vs. Game 10 Winner - 1:00 PM
- Game 14: Game 11 Loser vs. Game 9 Winner - 4:00 PM
- Game 15: Game 11 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner - 7:00 PM
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
- Game 16: Game 13 Winner vs. Game 14 Winner - 4:00 PM
- Game 17: Game 15 Loser vs. Game 16 Winner - 7:00 PM
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
- Game 18: Game 15 Winner vs. Game 17 Winner - 5:00 PM
- Game 19: Game 18 Winner vs. Game 18 Loser - IF Necessary
TICKETS/ VIDEO/ STATS
Links for tickets, live video, and live stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com.
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