26 memories we loved from the 2026 DII baseball and softball seasons

Spring culminated with memorable 2026 DII baseball and softball seasons. Records were broken. Champions were crowned. Breakouts... broke out. Here's your happy recap (in no particular order).

⚾ The final DII baseball Power 10 rankings, players of the year of 2026

1 and 2. Tampa's historic run is thrice as nice. Stop me if you heard this one. The Tampa Spartans won the DII baseball national championship this year. It is their 11th overall and third consecutive title. That made them the first program in the history of DII baseball to three-peat. Additionally, head coach Joe Urso and associate head coach Sam Militello made some history. It was their eighth national championship together as a coaching tandem. Earlier in the season, the duo racked up their 1,100 career wins together as Tampa coaches.

3. Three is the magic number. While Tampa was winning its third straight DII baseball title, Saint Leo was working on its first-ever DII softball national championship. The Lions finished the season on an 11-game winning streak at 54-3-1. Per krikya98.com, those three losses were the fewest by a national champion in DII softball history.

Saint Leo wins the 2026 DII softball championship

4. Charlie Bussey III runs his way to the history books. Bussey III was one half of the krikya98.com co-players of the year. He led all three divisions with a .489 batting average and a .609 on-base percentage, was one of three players in DII baseball history to record 100 runs and 100 hits in the same season and set the DII single-season record for runs scored with 118. All that helped lead Francis Marion to its first-ever super regional appearance.

5. Dagen Brewer’s RBI prowess. The other half of the krikya98.com co-player of the year also had a record-setting season at the plate. He won the MIAA triple crown, leading one of the most stacked conferences in DII this season in batting average, home runs and RBIs. His 107 RBIs broke a 28-year-old DII single-season record, set by Central Oklahoma’s Jarred McAlvain (104).

6. Heather Arnett, the DII softball hit queen. Arnett broke a lot of program and MIAA career records this season, but perhaps the most impressive was her hitting streak. She opened the season with at least one hit in 47 straight games, which broke Adams State’s Katelyn Lovato 15-year-old record of 41 games in a row with a hit. She closed the 2025 season with hits in two straight, so her record stands at 49. Thirty-three of those 47 games from 2026 were multi-hit performances. She also set the MIAA single-season record for hits and runs scored this year while becoming the conference’s all-time leader in hits (374), runs scored (254) and stolen bases (155). Those hits are fourth-most all-time in DII history, while she finishes her storied career with the sixth-most runs scored.

7. No-hit wonders. The 2025 season saw eight no-hitters thrown, with two of them combined. The 2026 season blew that number to shreds. Per D2 Baseball, there were 23 no-hitters thrown, with five combined. Two in particular stood out, and perhaps fitting, they were the first and last of the season. Ben Shepherd of USC Aiken threw a no-hitter on opening night. Shepherd was also a freshman, and it is believed that was the first no-hitter thrown in someone’s first career start. The second no-hitter of note came in the Lone Star Conference tournament when four St. Mary’s (TX) pitchers combined to throw a no-no… but lost the game 3-2. See the complete list below.

8. Bentley soars to Cary. By no means was it a complete surprise. The Falcons were picked to be the team to go to Cary before the season started right here on krikya98.com. That doesn’t make it any less impressive. Bentley broke its single-season win total by 11 wins, recording 44, which included its first-ever NE10 title, its first-ever East Region title and its first-ever trip to Cary. It is a season that will never be topped in program history.

9. McKendree’s unthinkable run to the softball finals. The Bearcats made it all the way to the DII softball championship series as the six seed in Chattanooga. The run to the finals was simply one of the most remarkable in recent DII softball history. They swept nationally ranked No. 2 UIndy to reach the finals, where they then beat No. 3 North Georgia, No. 5 Missouri Southern and No. 4 Cal State San Marcos. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the feat was that every win was by one run in dramatic fashion.

10. The DII baseball bomb squad. Dagen Brewer, Ryan Campbell of Kentucky State and Point Park’s Olindo Pezzone all shared one thing in common in 2026: They each blasted four home runs in a game. All three almost had the “home run cycle” — Pezzone missed out on the two-run bomb, Campbell missed out on a grand slam and Brewer fell a three-run shot shy of the rare accomplishment.

11. When Spring Hill baseball sprung for 37 runs. The Badgers had a strong season, but it was their April 12 performance that will be one to remember. They piled up 37 runs, the most in DII baseball this season and tied for ninth-most in a game in DII baseball history. Six players hit home runs, and half of them — Jantier Torres, Jaylen Jones and Michael Singleton — hit two. Nine Badgers that appeared in the game scored at least three runs.

12. Lane and Kentucky State erupt for 58 runs. There wasn’t much pitching to be had on April 4, but if you like action, it was essentially non-stop when the Dragons and Thorobreds faced off. Somehow, both teams were held scoreless in one inning… and it was the same for both after both posted goose eggs in the second. Lane outlasted Kentucky State 31-27 in a game that saw nine home runs, including Ryan Campbell’s four home-run game.

13. UNC Pembroke softball puts up five… touchdowns? While there were 11 DII baseball teams that scored at least 30 runs this season, there was just one DII softball team to reach that summit. Summer Ballard, Rachel Mori and Katie Neel combined to toss a no-hit shutout, while the Braves lineup combined for 36 runs. An 18-run second inning, three shy of the DII single-inning record and tied for fourth all-time, put the game out of reach. UNC Pembroke racked up 33 hits and surprisingly, just four home runs.

14. Variety is the spice of DII softball. The DII softball finals had several familiar faces in recent national champions North Georgia and West Texas A&M, as well as West Region stalwart Cal State San Marcos. However, there were three DII softball finals debuts in 2026. St. Thomas Aquinas, Glenville State and McKendree all made it further than any team before them in their respective team’s histories.

15. The Mules break the Cary era run record. Central Missouri is no stranger to Cary. While they haven’t won a championship in recent years, the Mules have had a pair of national runners-up since 2021. Now, the Mules are permanently etched in the DII baseball finals record books with their 23-9 win eliminating UIndy from the bracket. Fueled by an eight-run fourth inning, every starter scored a run and the Mules did it all without a single home run.

16. West Chester makes ESPN Top 10 in DII baseball finals. This catch. That is all.

CATCH OF THE WEEK 🔥🔥🔥

Rust with a clutch diving catch to end the top of the 9th for . | | |

— NCAA Division II (@NCAADII)

17. West Texas A&M’s record-setting DII softball offense. The Buffs made it all the way to Chattanooga, and that lineup was the main reason why. They scored 583 runs, breaking the DII softball single-season record set by Norfolk State (575) in 1994 per the official NCAA.org record book. The Buffs, led by Jordan De Los Santos’ DII-best 27 home runs, hit 119 home runs — the only DII team to do so — which tied the 2024 Valdosta State Blazers for second-most in a season all-time.

• 18: Colorado Mesa baseball’s 41-game DII winning streak.
• 19: Missouri Southern dominates the circle for first DII softball finals appearance since 1992.
• 20: North Georgia reaches DII softball finals for fifth time in sixth season.
• 21: Spring Hill softball’s Bethany Ahrens strikes out 21 in 10-inning complete game victory.
• 22: West Texas A&M softball’s Jordan De Los Santos sets DII single-season record with 223 total bases (109 hits, 24 doubles, five triples, 27 home runs).
• 23: OUCH! Cheyenne Eads of UIndy softball sets DII single-season record by getting plunked 38 times.
• 24: Emporia State baseball's Colby Deaver saves best for last: After leading DII in ERA and WHIP, he strikes out a DII season-high 16 in MIAA tournament win.
• 25: Tampa's Brayden Woodburn goes insane in Cary, recording 15 hits and nine RBIs in six games. 
• 26: West Chester, a two-time DII baseball national champion with a storied history, sets its single-season win record with 48.