SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Warrior softball team will play in the quarterfinals of the NSIC tournament as the one seed and will play on Thursday, May 7th at 12:30pm
The one-seeded Warriors (47-8, 26-4 NSIC) will start the single-elimination NSIC tournament in the quarterfinals where they will play against the lowest remaining seed after day one. The Warriors first game will be on Thursday, May 7th with first pitch scheduled for 12:30pm.
The winner of the NSIC Softball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament, played May 14-16. The 40-team NCAA Central Region is made up of teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.
The 2026 NSIC Softball Tournament bracket has been set as regular season play concluded Sunday. The top ten teams in the final regular season standings will participate in the single-elimination tournament, which will be held May 6-9 at Bowden Field in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; hosted by Augustana University.
This will be the 25th NSIC tournament appearance for Winona State with the most recent championship coming in 2018. The Warriors hold the league-best seven NSIC tournament championships and have recorded six NSIC regular season championships, including the 2026 season.
Winona State Notes:
- The Warriors ended the regular season with sweeps over Minnesota Crookston and Minnesota State Moorhead to finish 48-7 and 26-4 in the NSIC.
- Alyssa Woelfel leads the team with a batting average of .422, 59 runs scored, 76 hits, 18 doubles, 123 total bases, and nine stolen bases.
- Bryn Elsenpeter holds the most homeruns on the team with 12 and 51 total RBIs. Elsenpeter has been a key part of the team's successes holding an OPS of 1.136 and has taken 32 walks.
- Ashlee Chantos has collected a batting average of .333 and has posted an OPS of .841 with 39 hits this season.
- Jayda Berg leads the mound with an ERA of 1.99 and a season WHIP of .98 along with holding the top record in the conference at 20-4 overall.
- Izzy Howe has been a key factor for the Warriors pitching staff, including two no-hitters last weekend against MSUM and UMC and an 18-3 overall record.
- Tiegan Mancuso has produced a batting average of .341 including 10 doubles and on-base percentage of .389.
- Braelee Jodarski is right behind Woelfel and Elsenpeter with 31 RBIs, 13 doubles and six home runs. Jodarski leads the team in triples with four.
- Ashley Theisen rounds out the pitcher for WSU with a WHIP of 1.16 and ERA of 2.74 in 18 appearances.
- Lila McNeill has a batting average of .327 and a season OPS of .883 while holding 29 RBIs and 78 total bases.
The winner of the NSIC Softball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament, played May 14-16. The 40-team NCAA Central Region is made up of teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final five spots awarded on an at-large basis.
