SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University softball team is in the first edition of the 2025 NCAA Atlantic Region rankings released Wednesday. The NCAA regional rankings are annually used to determine the teams that qualify for the NCAA Division II Softball Championships.
 
This is the first of three editions of the regional rankings before the announcement of the tournament field, which is set for Monday, May 5. Each set of rankings includes all games played through the previous Sunday.
 
Six of the 10 regionally ranked teams are from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division: Bloomsburg, East Stroudsburg, Kutztown, Shepherd, Shippensburg and West Chester.
 
Following the completion of the regular season and conference tournaments, eight teams from each of the eight regions will advance to the 2025 NCAA Division II Softball Championships. Per the NCAA, teams will participate at each regional site in a double-elimination tournament. The 16 teams advancing from regional competition will participate in a two-team, best-of-three super regional at eight sites.
 
The Atlantic Region is comprised of the 17 teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), the 10 teams in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) and the 13 teams in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) in addition to independent school Salem (41 total teams).
 
The Atlantic Region Championships will feature three automatic qualifiers – the tournament champions from the PSAC, MEC and CIAA – and five at-large selections.
 
Shippensburg is seeking its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since making eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2002-09.
 
More information about the NCAA regional championships, including selection criteria and more, can be found in the NCAA's Pre-Championship manual at https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/sports/softball/d2/2024-25D2WSB_PreChampsManual.pdf.