MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Defending league champion Dominican University has been declared the favorite to capture the 2025 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) softball crown according to the annual preseason poll released Thursday.

Dominican secured 21 of 26 first-place votes and posted 331 points in the poll, which consists of votes from the league's head softball coaches and athletics communications professionals. The Stars finished 39-8 overall and 20-4 in league play, winning the 2024 NACC Softball Tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament. Dominican posted a 1-2 record in a regional hosted by Case Western Reserve University, scoring a victory over Penn State Behrend in the process. 

Aurora University (295 points) sits second, just ahead of Concordia University Wisconsin (276) and Benedictine University (255). The Spartans claimed one first-place vote, while the Falcons and Eagles secured two apiece.

Lakeland University is fifth with 233 points, followed by Marian University in sixth with 221. Milwaukee School of Engineering (181) and Edgewood College (176) are seventh and eighth, respectively, filling out the final two spots in the presumptive NACC tournament field.

Wisconsin Lutheran College edged Rockford University, 103-98, for ninth place, while Concordia University Chicago (87), St. Norbert College (83), and Alverno College (27) round out the poll.

New Coaches: There are three new coaches in the NACC this season. Matthew Schmuck takes over at Alverno, while Megan Aliverti is now directing the program at Concordia Wisconsin, and Kayla Bryant is the new head coach at Lakeland.

Schmuck brings years of experience coaching high school and travel ball. He has over 100 wins through eight seasons as a high school softball coach.

Aliverti takes over the CUW program after spending last season as an assistant at NCAA Division II Drury University. Prior to that, she was an assistant at UW-Stevens Point following a spectacular career at UW-Parkside.

Bryant comes to Lakeland after serving as head coach at Mount Marty University the last three seasons. In her first season leading the Lancers, the program posted a program-best 32-16 record, won its first Great Plains Athletic Conference championship, and advanced to the NAIA national tournament. She also spent time as an assistant and a graduate assistant at Mount Marty and as a volunteer assistant at the University of Memphis.

2025 Schedule: Edgewood and Wisconsin Lutheran will be the first NACC programs to take the field, both on Thursday, Feb. 20 at the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Illinois. Edgewood will face UW-Platteville and Loras, while Wisconsin Lutheran takes on Loras and UW-Stevens Point.

Concordia Wisconsin follows two days later with a doubleheader at UW-Oshkosh.

The rest of the NACC will wait until the calendar turns to March before taking to the diamond for their season-opening contests.

Season Openers
Edgewood: Feb. 20 vs. UW-Platteville/Loras @ Peoria, Ill.
Wisconsin Lutheran: Feb. 20 vs. Loras/UW-Stevens Point @ Peoria, Ill.
Concordia Wisconsin: Feb. 22 at UW-Oshkosh (DH)
Benedictine: March 1 vs. Bethany Lutheran/RPI @ Clermont, Fla.
Aurora: March 2 vs. Emmanuel/Bethany Lutheran @ Winter Haven, Fla.
Dominican: March 2 vs. Lebanon Valley/RPI @ Winter Haven, Fla.
Marian: March 2 vs. Illinois College/Alvernia @ Winter Haven, Fla.
Concordia Chicago: March 3 vs. Rose-Hulman/Mount Mary @ Melbourne, Fla.
MSOE: March 8 at UW-Oshkosh (DH)
St. Norbert: March 8 @ UW-Eau Claire (DH)
Rockford: March 9 vs. UW-Superior/RIT @ Fort Myers, Fla.
Lakeland: March 10 vs. Calvin/Transylvania @ Winter Haven, Fla.
Alverno: March 14 vs. Lesley/Crown (Minn.) @ Naples, Fla.

The NACC portion of the slate begins the weekend of March 22-24. Three doubleheaders - Aurora at Lakeland, Benedictine at Concordia Wisconsin, and Rockford at WIsconsin Lutheran - will be held Saturday, March 22, while Alverno and Edgewood kick off their NACC schedules with a doubleheader on Monday, March 24. The rest of the NACC gets underway the following weekend. St. Norbert travels to Concordia Chicago, Marian is at Alverno, and Dominican hosts Concordia Wisconsin on Saturday, March 29. The final NACC program - MSOE - begins league play at Alverno on Sunday, March 30, as part of a slate featuring five NACC doubleheaders.

The final date of regular-season play is Sunday, May 4.

NACC Tournament: The top eight teams in the final standings qualify for the 2025 NACC Softball Tournament. The double-elimination tournament is slated for Thursday-Sunday, May 8-11 at Bedrosian Stadium in Montgomery, Illinois. Aurora University is the tournament host. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth in the 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
 

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2025 NACC Softball Preseason Poll

Institution	Points	Players to Watch
Dominican (21)	331	Emma Woodhouse, Sr., P/DP; Liliana Santoyo, Sr., SS
Aurora (1)	295	Faith Biggs, Sr., SS; Rylee Campbell, Sr., P
Concordia Wisconsin (2)	276	Jess Pozezinski, Sr., SS; Megan Bloyer, Sr., C
Benedictine (2)	255	Morgan Bruno, Jr., C; Haley Barnes, Jr., 3B
Lakeland	233	Maddie Raske, So., OF; Jordan August, Sr., C
Marian	221	Ari Schliepp, Jr., C; Erin Cowe, So., OF
MSOE	181	Carlee Emery, So., OF; Jayda Nelson, So., IF
Edgewood	176	Olivia Hebert, Sr., C; Gracie Halfman, Jr., CF
Wisconsin Lutheran	103	Alea Anhalt, So., C; Gwen Malecke, Sr., IF
Rockford	98	Isabella Lima, Sr., P/OF
Concordia Chicago	87	Arissa Santos, Jr., SS/2B; Jessica Geng, Sr., C/UT
St. Norbert	83
Alverno	27	Giselle Moreno, Jr., IF

First-place votes in parentheses