Volume II | Issue III
Conference action for many teams is starting or has started already. It’s crazy to think that in just over a month the first of 19 conference tournaments kick off and teams start punching a ticket into the 2026 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship. Check out more information on this years national championship including bracket, and visitors guide for Decatur, Ala.. As more information including tickets, fan and family hotels, and final site schedule become available we will highlight it here in the notebook and add the links on the visitors guide page.
The fourth edition of the PrestoSports-NAIA Women’s Soccer Players of the Week were released earlier this week
The second coaches’ top 25 was released last week and it had everyone on the move again. Keiser (Fla.) reclaimed the No. 1 spot, Marian (Ind.) jumped to No. 2.
The next top 25 poll set to be released on Oct. 1, will be the first ever National Selection Committee (NSC) Poll for NAIA Women’s Soccer.
The NSC poll will be voted upon by members of the NAIA Women’s Soccer Selection Committee during which time the ARC ratings will be published in conjunction.
As postseason action gets closer and closer each day for teams, more data becomes available so teams can see where they land in the national landscape. Earlier this week the first ranking percentage index (RPI) was released and posted online. This data point isn’t just another random set of data, but it’s part of the data available to the NAIA Women’s Soccer National Selection Committee when they select the remaining at large teams and seed the tournament field come November.
The Bears have continued to grow in success over the years, especially in women’s soccer thanks in part to longtime head coach David McDowell who stepped into the role back in 2007. After a fantastic season last year, reaching the national tournament for the eighth consecutive season, they made a run that had yet to be seen in TMU women’s soccer history.
The Bears received a bid to host the 2025 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship Second Round where they defeated Cumberland (Tenn.) to be one of the final 16 teams and book a ticket to the final site. Once at the final site, the tenth-seeded Bears upset seventh-seeded Grace (Ind.) to reach their first ever NAIA Women’s Soccer Quarterfinal matchup, but the history the program ended last year with doesn’t stop there.
In the second regular season Coaches’ Top 25 poll, they added to it after climbing to No. 6 nationally. The Bears added another piece of history to the record books, and this time not only to the program, but for all women’s sports at TMU becoming the highest ranked women’s team in school history and the second highest rank across all sports the Bears offer behind men’s golf when they were ranked No. 5 in February of 2024 since joining the NAIA in 2009.
This also marked the 57th consecutive poll TMU has been ranked in dating all the way back to August 11, 2021.
Tons of high profile matches across the nation this week with the Crossroads League highlighting many of our featured matches. There is no shortage of Top 25 matches on tap for the coming week with even more that aren’t highlighted matches. The biggest on deck is when No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan travels to No. 7 Grace (Ind.). If you follow the NAIA on x at all and remember seeing these two institutions on a different highlighted matchup you’d be correct. The Wildcats and Lancers have a long history of being rivals. 54 miles is all that separates. These two campuses, in every sport no matter the year is always a top event to tune into and watch.
Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. ET
Thursday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. ET
Friday, Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 26 at 1 p.m. ET
Saturday, Sept. 26 at 6 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. ET
The number of goals scored for these three women’s soccer student-athletes has been climbing fast! Yajaira Alvarado of Williams Baptist (Ark.) (left image) sits comfortably at the top with 18 goals scored so far this season. With Millie Rayner of UT Southern (Tenn.) (top right) has put away 14 goals for second on the national leader board. Daria Cwynar of Brewton-Parker (Ga.) (bottom right) follows closely behind with 13 scored to this point.
Check out more on the national leaders and see where your favorite student-athlete lands by clicking on the button below!
KANSAS CITY, MO.- Grand View (Iowa) holds the No. 1 position in the latest NAIA Women’s Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20, collecting 189 points to remain atop the rankings. The Vikings also have a new individual No. 1, as Cailin Campbell claimed the top spot at 117 pounds. Life (Ga.) moved up two spots to No. […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Emma Nibbelink of Aquinas (Mich.) captured the NAIA Women’s Swimming & Diving weekly recognition after achieving a strong performance at the Kalamazoo College Dual. Nibbelink posted a pair of NAIA A standards on the boards. The junior opened the meet scoring a 198.89 on the three-meter board to earn the win. […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A quartet of wins leads to Elijah Holliman of Milligan (Tenn.) capturing the NAIA Men’s Swimmer of the Week honor. Over the course of two duals, Holliman clipped the NAIA provisional cut en route to four first-place finishes. In the Inauguration Day Dual, Holliman collected a pair of wins, highlighted by […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The first regular-season Gared NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll sees a lot of movement as only two teams remained the same rank as the preseason poll. Bethel (Tenn.) Bethel (Tenn.) has opened the season with an impressive 4-0 record, averaging 78 points per game while steadily improving on the […]