Fresh off a first-ever appearance at the Division III Women’s College World Series, the University of Redlands has been unanimously picked to secure a fifth straight regular season conference title according to the 2026 SCIAC Softball Preseason Poll, as voted by the league’s head coaches.
*NFCA Preseason Poll rankings will be released Feb. 3
The Bulldogs swept Emory University in the Super Regional hosted at the Redlands “Field of Dreams” and shut out Texas Lutheran University in one of three games played on the final stage in Bloomington, Ill. where 2024 SCIAC Athlete of the Year and 2023 SCIAC Pitcher of the Year
Katlyn Gandara was named to the All-All-Tournament team in a return from late-season injury. The two-way star will again be joined by fellow First Team All-SCIAC picks
Leila Jackson and
Jenay Scott as well as Second Teamers
Brooklyn Bard and
Paige Ellinger under the tutelage of Coaching Staff of the Year winner
Jose Ortega.
The 2025 SCIAC Pitcher of the Year,
Rose Malen, and Second Team All-SCIAC selection
Mia Reyes return for SCIAC Tournament victor Chapman University. Back to-back First Team recognition for Malen has been well deserved as the senior led the conference last year with eight wins and four saves, ranking second in ERA (1.43) and third in innings pitched (73.1) with three shutouts and a sterling 51:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Reyes hit .339 with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 49 chances at the keystone.
Having come within three outs of a first SCIAC Tournament title since 2018, CMS retains a quartet of All-Conference honorees.
Hannah Adams and rookie .400 hitter
Danica Stirling made the Second Team last year, while 2024 Newcomer of the Year
Giselle Lai and two-time All-SCIAC pick
Rachel Sapirstein also return after both having hit .400 in conference play two seasons ago.
Three-time First Team catcher
Kylie Liu is the lone All-Conference piece back for Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. A .424/.513/.697 triple slash line and .988 fielding percentage kept the former rookie batting champion in the conversation among the conference elite with a rare chance for a fourth career top-squad nod.
California Lutheran University’s trio of First Team selection
Danielle Diaz, two-time Second Teamer
Jessica Waters and former First Team pick
Nadia Collins provide a strong core for the Regals to look to return to the SCIAC Tournament mix after a one-year hiatus. Waters has led the conference in OPS along with 12 home runs and 38 walks over the past two seasons while Diaz became the first SCIAC player since 2018 to hit .500 over the course of a full season.
Team ERA leader for the University of La Verne as a rookie,
Briana Vasquez again will front the rotation. First Team honoree and conference hits per game leader
Kelly Nutter returns for Whittier College along with Second Teamer
Anna Rivas, while three-time All-SCIAC selection
Alysha Wagner is back for a final go with Occidental College.
Scrimmages, exhibitions and non-NCAA competition litter the early-season schedule before CMS hosts McMurry University in the first DIII doubleheader on Feb. 6 and then squares off with Pomona-Pitzer to kick off the first full weekend of action beginning Feb. 13.
2026 SCIAC Softball Preseason Poll
1. Redlands, 64 points (8 first-place votes)
2. Chapman, 51 pts
2. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 51 pts
4. Pomona-Pitzer, 41 pts
5. California Lutheran, 30 pts
6. La Verne, 20 pts
6. Whittier, 20 pts
8. Occidental, 11 pts
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