BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships after winning its third consecutive GNAC title, the Western Washington University softball team earned the No. 7 seed in the West Regional bracket.

 

WWU opens the NCAA postseason on Thursday, May 14 facing No. 2 seed and sub-regional host Cal State East Bay at noon at Pioneer Softball Field in Hayward, California. No. 3 Concordia Irvine and No. 6 Biola round out the four-team Hayward pod. No. 1 Cal State San Marcos, No. 4 Cal State Dominguez Hills, No. 5 Cal State Monterey Bay and No. 8 Hawai'i Hilo make up the other half of the bracket competing for a spot in the super regional in San Marcos, California.

 

This marks the Vikings third consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships and fourth in the last six seasons. WWU is the two-time defending West Regional champion, advancing to play in the NCAA II World Series in 2024 in Longwood, Florida and 2025 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

 

WWU heads into the NCAA Championships with a 34-20 overall record and gained the automatic bid by winning the GNAC Tournament. After winning the first game at the conference tournament, WWU had to battle through the elimination bracket, earning a pair of wins on Saturday over Simon Fraser to win the title for the third consecutive season.

 

The Vikings are led by six players that earned All-GNAC honors during the regular season and seven players that earned a spot on the GNAC All-Tournament Team. Junior third baseman and GNAC Player of the Year Maleah Andrews leads the team batting .411 (67-for-163) with 60 runs scored, 18 doubles, 12 home runs, 47 RBI and 44 walks to account for a ..540 on-base percentage and .767 slugging percentage. Senior shortstop Hailey Rath became a four-time First Team All-GNAC selection heading into the regional batting .342 (54-for-158) with 12 doubles, 14 home runs and 58 RBI. Sophomore catcher EmmaJoy Wise is batting .390 (64-for-164) with 13 doubles, 10 home runs and 50 RBI.

 

GNAC Freshman of the Year Alanna Wirtala earned the GNAC Tournament MVP award going 4-1 in the circle and heads into the NCAA Tournament 27-11 with four saves and a 3.42 ERA (114 ER, 233.0 IP).

 

Head coach Sheryl Gilmore is in her eighth year leading the program and has compiled a school-record 248 wins (248-136/.646). The Vikings have advanced to the postseason (GNAC or NCAA) each of the last six seasons.

 

The Vikings (34-20) opens the NCAA II West Regional as the No. 7 seed taking on No. 2 seed Cal State East Bay on Thursday at 12 pm. The complete 2026 schedule can be viewed online at wwuvikings.com/Team34with links to season statistics, photo galleries and program history.

 

WWU is set to compete in the Hayward pod of the 2026 NCAA II West Regional Championship, with four teams competing for a spot in the super regional at Pioneer Softball Field on the Cal State East Bay campus. This marks the Vikings second consecutive trip to Cal State East Bay in regional play, knocking off the No. 1 seed Pioneers on the way to a Super Regional victory at Cal State San Marcos. Here is a look at the Hayward bracket with game times listed. The other side of the West Region bracket will be played on the campus of No. 1 seed Cal State San Marcos. The winner of each sub-regional advances to the West Super Regional played May 21-22 (best of 3), with the winner advancing to the NCAA II Championship Finals May 28-June 3 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

 

 

Thursday, May 14:

Game 1 – No. 2 Cal State East Bay vs. No. 7 Western Washington, 12:00 pm

Game 2 – No. 3 Concordia Irvine vs. No. 6 Biola, 2:30 pm

 

Friday, May 15:

Game 3 – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 10:00 am

Game 4 – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 12:30 pm (elimination game)

Game 5 – Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 3:00 pm (elimination game)

 

Saturday, May 16:

Game 6 – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, 12:00 pm

Game 7 – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6, 2:30 pm (if necessary)

 

WWU will be making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Division II Softball Championships and third consecutive with back-to-back appearances in the D2 World Series in 2024 (Longwood, FL) and 2025 (Chattanooga, TN). Entering the 2024 postseason with one NCAA Tournament victory, the Vikings went 10-5 during the run to the national championship series last year and reached the semifinal round (Final Four) in 2025. Prior to moving to the NCAA level in 1999, WWU won the NAIA World Series in 1998 for the first team national championship in WWU Athletics history. Here is a look at the Vikings game-by-game listing in the NCAA Championships with the regional host site listed next to the year. The Vikings are 18-18 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, with 17 of the 18 wins over the last two seasons. WWU is two-time defending West Regional Champion:

 

2003 (Bakersfield, CA):

Lost to UC Davis, 4-2

Lost to Humboldt State, 7-1

 

2007 (Turlock, CA):

Lost to Stanislaus State, 2-0

Lost to Sonoma State, 3-1

 

2011 (Chico, CA):

Lost to Chico State, 3-1

Lost to Central Washington, 8-4

 

2017 (Seaside, CA):

Defeated Cal State Monterey Bay, 5-3

Lost to Dixie State, 5-0

Lost to Sonoma State, 6-4

 

2021 (Irvine, CA):

Lost to Hawai'i Hilo, 3-0

Lost to Central Washington, 9-5

 

2024 (Bellingham, WA):

Defeated Azusa Pacific, 1-0

Lost to Cal State San Marcos, 4-3

Defeated Azusa Pacific, 3-0

Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 7-1

Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 2-1

Defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 4-3 (Super Regional)

Lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 3-2 (Super Regional)

Defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 7-6 (West Region Champions) – 8 innings

Defeated Wilmington (DE), 2-1 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL

Lost to UT Tyler, 10-1 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL

Defeated Auburn Montgomery, 7-1 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL

Defeated UIndy, 2-1 (9 inn.) (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL

Defeated UIndy, 7-0 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Longwood, FL

Lost to UT Tyler, 3-0 (NCAA Championship Series) – Longwood, FL

Lost to UT Tyler, 10-1 (NCAA Championship Series) – Longwood, FL

 

2025 (Hayward, CA):

Defeated Concordia Irvine, 8-0

Defeated Cal State East Bay, 2-1

Defeated Cal State East Bay, 6-2

Lost to Cal State San Marcos, 9-1 (Super Regional)

Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 4-1 (Super Regional)

Defeated Cal State San Marcos, 3-2 (Super Regional)

Lost to UT Tyler, 6-5 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN

Defeated North Georgia, 3-0 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN

Defeated Central Oklahoma, 3-2 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN

Lost to UT Tyler, 2-0 (NCAA Championship Finals) – Chattanooga, TN

 

Here is a look at the Vikings record breakdown for the 2026 season:

 

 

The WWU softball is in its 34th season in 2026 while coming off a historic 47-13 season in 2025. The Vikings claimed their third consecutive GNAC tournament title in 2026 after finishing second during the regular season. WWU has made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II World Series and made seven all-time appearances in the NCAA West Regional Championships. WWU won its second consecutive West Regional title in 2025 defeating Cal State East Bay in the sub-regional and Cal State San Marcos in the Super Regional. The historic season ended playing in the D2 World Series in Chattanooga, Tennessee, reaching the semifinal round (Final Four). WWU has posted a winning record 23 times during the 34-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. Over the last three seasons the program has combined to go 133-45 (.747).