BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Coming off a historic 52-win season in 2024, the Western Washington University softball team opens the 2025 season ranked No. 2 in the NFCA Division II Coaches Poll.

 

WWU recorded the best season in program history in 2024 going 52-12 and reaching the national championship final series, falling to eventual national champion UT Tyler. The Vikings historic campaign included winning the GNAC Tournament at Vikings Field, hosting (and winning) two rounds of the NCAA Championships and advancing to the NCAA Division II World Series for the first time.

 

The Vikings received 384 points in a vote of 16 NCAA Division II head coaches, with two representing each of the NCAA's eight regions. WWU finished the 2024 season No. 2 in the final NFCA Coaches Poll for the highest end-of-season ranking in program history at the NCAA level.

 

High expectations follow the Vikings into the 2025 season with 17 returning letterwinners on the 22-player roster. WWU returns nearly its entire pitching staff (all but 1/3 of an inning) from last year's group that recorded a 1.86 team ERA (12th in NCAA II) . Offensively, WWU set a program record with 49 home runs, with 40 of the HR production back for the 2025 season.

 

Head coach Sheryl Gilmore enters her seventh season leading the program having led the Vikings to 167 wins during her tenure. 

 

The 2025 season officially opens with five games at the CUI Kickoff Classic January 31-February 2 at Great Park in Irvine, California. The complete schedule with links on how to follow the team can be viewed at WWUVikings.com/Team33.

 

The 2025 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll will be announced Wednesday, January 22 at 1 pm.

 

Here is a complete listing of the 2025 NFCA/GoRout Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll:

 

 

WWU became the first team since the GNAC was founded in 2001 to reach the NCAA Division II Softball World Series in 2024. The Vikings finished second in the GNAC regular-season standings with a league record of 19-5, before going 3-0 on their home field to capture the program's third GNAC Championships tournament trophy. From there, the Vikings went 4-1 at the West Regional and defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills 2-1 in a three-game super regional series to advance to the NCAA Championships. The Vikings set the GNAC record for consecutive wins to start a season with 13, broke the school record with a midseason, 17-game winning streak and shattered the previous program record for wins in a season which was 34. WWU's 52 wins were 4th-most in GNAC history, and the most by a conference team since Humboldt State won 54 games in 2006.

 

The WWU softball program enters its 33rd season in 2025 while coming off a historic 52-12 season in 2024. The Vikings claimed their third GNAC title by winning the 2024 postseason tournament at Viking Field and advanced to the NCAA Division II Championships for the sixth time in program history. Playing on its home field in the NCAA postseason for the first time, WWU won its first West Regional title defeating Cal State San Marcos in the sub-regional and Cal State Dominguez Hills in the Super Regional. The historic season ended playing in the national championship series as part of the NCAA Division II Spring Sports Festival in Longwood, Florida. WWU has posted a winning record 21 times during the 32-year history of the program, which won the 1998 NAIA National Championship in only its sixth season to record the school's first ever team national title.