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Feb. 2—SIOUX CITY, Iowa. — The Dakota Wesleyan University softball program was tabbed to finish sixth out of 12 teams in the Great Plains Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll, the league office announced on Monday.
DWU, which finished fourth in the GPAC regular-season standings last year, garnered 75 vote points in the preseason poll ahead of its first season under new head coach Stephen Oswald Jr. Points were awarded on an 11-through-1 basis, and coaches could not vote for their own team.
The Tigers were tabbed ninth last season but went on to have the best campaign in program history, posting a 34-16 overall record and breaking several program records in the process. Former DWU head coach Tommy Downs was then hired by the University of Sioux Falls.
Midland (Neb.) topped the GPAC preseason poll with 114 points and six of 12 available first-place votes. The Warriors were one of 10 programs to reach the 2025 NAIA Softball World Series, finishing 40-18.
Creating a cluster in the top-three places, Morningside (Iowa) was second with 110 points, and Northwestern (Iowa), the conference's regular season and tournament champions last season, was third with 108 points. The Mustangs and Red Raiders split the remaining top votes, three apiece.
In the NAIA national preseason poll, Midland checked in at No. 11, with Northwestern at No. 17. Morningside received votes but landed outside the top 25.
Dordt (Iowa) and Concordia (Neb.) came in at 83 points and 79 points, respectively, just ahead of DWU in fourth and fifth. There was another dropoff from the Tigers to a seventh-place tie between Hastings (Neb.) and Mount Marty at 54 points each, and ninth-place Doane (Neb.). Rounding out the rankings were the College of Saint Mary (Neb.) in 10th with 26 points, Briar Cliff (Iowa) with 25 points in 11th and Waldorf at the bottom with 12 points.
DWU opens up the 2026 season by playing four total games between Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6-7, in Sioux Center, Iowa. Opposition includes teams from Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and North Dakota. The Tigers' first scheduled home date is a GPAC doubleheader against Northwestern on Wednesday, March 18.
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DWU, which finished fourth in the GPAC regular-season standings last year, garnered 75 vote points in the preseason poll ahead of its first season under new head coach Stephen Oswald Jr. Points were awarded on an 11-through-1 basis, and coaches could not vote for their own team.
The Tigers were tabbed ninth last season but went on to have the best campaign in program history, posting a 34-16 overall record and breaking several program records in the process. Former DWU head coach Tommy Downs was then hired by the University of Sioux Falls.
Midland (Neb.) topped the GPAC preseason poll with 114 points and six of 12 available first-place votes. The Warriors were one of 10 programs to reach the 2025 NAIA Softball World Series, finishing 40-18.
Creating a cluster in the top-three places, Morningside (Iowa) was second with 110 points, and Northwestern (Iowa), the conference's regular season and tournament champions last season, was third with 108 points. The Mustangs and Red Raiders split the remaining top votes, three apiece.
In the NAIA national preseason poll, Midland checked in at No. 11, with Northwestern at No. 17. Morningside received votes but landed outside the top 25.
Dordt (Iowa) and Concordia (Neb.) came in at 83 points and 79 points, respectively, just ahead of DWU in fourth and fifth. There was another dropoff from the Tigers to a seventh-place tie between Hastings (Neb.) and Mount Marty at 54 points each, and ninth-place Doane (Neb.). Rounding out the rankings were the College of Saint Mary (Neb.) in 10th with 26 points, Briar Cliff (Iowa) with 25 points in 11th and Waldorf at the bottom with 12 points.
DWU opens up the 2026 season by playing four total games between Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6-7, in Sioux Center, Iowa. Opposition includes teams from Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and North Dakota. The Tigers' first scheduled home date is a GPAC doubleheader against Northwestern on Wednesday, March 18.
Continue reading...
