courtesy of www.thesunconference.com
TAMPA, Fla. — Southeastern opens the 2026 Sun Conference softball season as the preseason favorite, earning 61 points and five first-place votes in the annual poll of league head coaches.
Southeastern, St. Thomas, Coastal Georgia, and Keiser all advanced to the NAIA Championship Opening Rounds a season ago. Southeastern posted a 2–2 record at its Opening Round site, earning wins over Arizona Christian and Jamestown (N.D.), while St. Thomas also finished 2–2 and fell just one game shy of a World Series appearance.
St. Thomas is voted second in this year's poll with 56 points and three first-place votes after capturing both the Sun Conference Regular Season and Tournament titles last season.
Coastal Georgia sits third in the preseason poll with 49 points and one first-place vote, while Keiser rounds out the top four with 48 points, placing four teams within 13 points at the top of the preseason poll.
New College earned 35 points to place fifth, followed by Ave Maria with 24 points. Webber International (23 points) and Warner (19 points) round out the middle of the poll.
Florida Memorial earned nine points to complete the preseason rankings.
First non-conference action begins Friday, January 30, with conference play set to open Friday, February 27. The 2026 Sun Conference Softball Tournament is scheduled to begin Thursday, April 30, and conclude Saturday, May 2.
| 2026 Sun Conference Softball Preseason Poll |
| Rank |
Team |
Points
(first-place votes) |
2024 Conference Record |
2024 Overall Record |
| 1 |
Southeastern |
61 (5) |
20-4 |
42-11 |
| 2 |
St. Thomas |
56 (3) |
21-3 |
49-8 |
| 3 |
Coastal Georgia |
49 (1) |
15-9 |
35-19 |
| 4 |
Keiser |
48 |
19-5 |
39-17 |
| 5 |
New College |
35 |
8-16 |
17-30 |
| 6 |
Ave Maria |
24 |
6-18 |
17-30-1 |
| 7 |
Webber International |
23 |
10-14 |
22-30 |
| 8 |
Warner |
19 |
6-18 |
13-27 |
| 9 |
Florida Memorial |
9 |
4-20 |
14-31 |
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