LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The East Stroudsburg and Slippery Rock softball teams have been voted No. 1 in the Eastern and Western divisions, respectively, in the 2026 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Softball Preseason Polls.
The polls are voted on by the conference’s head coaches.
East Stroudsburg sits atop the Eastern Division poll after collecting six first-place votes, with Shippensburg (second in the poll) collecting two and Shepherd (third) collecting one. In the Western Division poll, Slippery Rock received four first-place votes, outpacing IUP (second in the poll), which received three, and Gannon (third), which received one.
Find the complete polls as well as division outlooks below.
EASTERN DIVISION (# of first place votes)
1. East Stroudsburg (6)
2. Shippensburg (2)
3. Shepherd (1)
4. Kutztown
5. West Chester
6. Bloomsburg
7. Millersville
8. Lock Haven
9. Mansfield
WESTERN DIVISION (# of first place votes)
1. Slippery Rock (4)
2. IUP (3)
3. Gannon (1)
4. Seton Hill
5. California
6. Clarion
7. Pitt-Johnstown
8. Edinboro
EASTERN DIVISION
The top spot in the Eastern Division’s preseason poll was secured by East Stroudsburg for the third consecutive season. The Warriors (48-12-1 overall, 36-5-1 PSAC in 2025) took home the 2025 PSAC title last spring following a Championship Series Game Two victory over Shepherd. ESU returns junior pitcher Sarah Davenport and senior catcher Delaney Ridgell, both 2025 All-PSAC First Team selections. Davenport was second in the conference in ERA (1.45) last spring, while Ridgell smashed 10 home runs and led the conference in RBIs (62) and putouts with 439. Other key returners are sophomore infielder Tulana Mingin, sophomore catcher Kinsley Proepper, senior infielder Maddy Pritchard, and graduate outfielder Katie Master.
Voted second in this year’s poll is Shippensburg (36-22, 19-13 PSAC). The Raiders finished their season after day three of the NCAA Tournament last spring, where they lost to No. 14 Pace. In 2025, Shippensburg finished second in the conference in hits with 511 and fourth in batting average at .318. Four All-Conference players are back for the Raiders, including First Team All-Conference shortstop Caitlyn Martell, who totaled 82 hits and a .398 average last spring. Other notable returners are juniors Brie Wilmot, Sarah Sabocsik, and Reagan Bauman. All three earned PSAC Second Team honors last spring.
The Shepherd Rams (28-24-1, 19-12-1 PSAC) come in third in this year’s poll. Junior pitcher Madelayne Ruffner returns to the circle after leading the PSAC in ERA last season with 0.83, which was third in all of Division II (along with her strikeout total of 316). Junior Madelyn Chambers also returns after finishing 2025 with a .980 fielding percentage and batting .390. Both Ruffner and Chambers earned First Team All-Conference last season.
Kutztown (36-21, 18-14 PSAC), fourth in this year’s poll, also returns plenty of talent. There are 14 members returning from last season's squad, including First Team All-Conference outfielder Emily Henn and Second Team All-Conference pitcher Haley Gravish.
The remainder of the 2025 PSAC Softball Eastern Division Preseason Poll is rounded out by West Chester at No. 5, Bloomsburg at No. 6, Millersville at No. 7, Lock Haven at No. 8, and Mansfield at No. 9.
WESTERN DIVISION
The Western Division’s top team in the 2026 poll is Slippery Rock (29-21 overall, 21-7 PSAC in 2025). The Rock will look to 2025 Second Team All-Conference selections Sydney Brown and Shaylyn Shall to lead the team after losing Alexsa Hurd, 2025 PSAC West Pitcher of the Year. Shall finished last season ranked first on the team and sixth in the PSAC in on-base percentage (0.472) and scored 32 runs. Brown hit .373 with a .393 on-base percentage in 2025 while scoring 10 runs with 10 RBIs.
Behind Slippery Rock is IUP at No. 2, which ended 2025 with a record of 26-20 (15-13 PSAC) but return a lot of talent this spring, including seniors Madison Pikula (.382 hitting, .956 OPS), Reagan Rand (.333, 44 RBIs), Maddie Griffin (.401 average), and Delaney Patella (.367 average.) Kendall Young handled the bulk of the pitching duties during her sophomore campaign, with 105 strikeouts and a 3.30 ERA.
The No. 3 team in the 2025 West poll is Gannon (29-19, 18-10 PSAC), which returns 2025 PSAC West Athlete of the Year Emma Smerick, who led the Golden Knights at the plate with a .405 average and collected 60 hits, 57 runs scored, 33 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases. Gannon also returns First Team All-Conference honorees Katie Armstrong and Sadie Carroll.
Seton Hill comes in at No. 4 after finishing 2025 with an overall record of 29-17 (18-10 PSAC). 2025 PSAC West Freshman of the Year Shelby Telegdy returns for the Griffins after finishing last season with a 3.32 ERA in the circle and .385 average at the plate. First Team All-Conference outfielder Kassidy Wittig is also on the Griffins’ roster this season after leading the team with a .427 batting average in 2025.
The remainder of the 2026 PSAC Softball Western Division Preseason Poll includes No. 5 California, No. 6 Clarion, No. 7 Pitt-Johnstown, and No. 8 Edinboro.