On Wednesday, the NCAA released the second edition of the 2023 Atlantic Region rankings, placing the Shippensburg University softball team at No. 4. These rankings are used annually to determine the qualifying teams for the NCAA Division II Softball Championships. This is the second set of rankings out of three to be released prior to the tournament field announcement on May 8th.
Each ranking set includes all games played through the previous Sunday. This week, Mercyhurst and Kutztown climbed into the rankings, while Millersville and Slippery Rock fell out. The Atlantic Region includes teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), the Mountain East Conference (MEC), the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA), as well as independents Bluefield State and Salem, totaling 44 teams.
Following the end of the regular season, eight teams from each of the eight regions will advance to the 2023 NCAA Division II Softball Championships. The NCAA specifies that four teams will compete in a double-elimination tournament at each of 16 regional sites, with the 16 advancing teams participating in a best-of-three super regional at eight sites. The Atlantic Region Championships will feature three automatic qualifiers – the PSAC, MEC, and CIAA tournament champions – and five at-large selections. Shippensburg is aiming for their first back-to-back NCAA Tournament berth since the 2013 and 2014 seasons, during which they hosted the NCAA Atlantic Region.
The regional rankings committees determine team assignments based on various criteria, including Division II in-region winning percentage, strength of schedule, head-to-head competition, and results against ranked Division II opponents. Additional criteria specific to softball includes in-region Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and Division II results against teams with a winning record.
