WASHINGTON – Coming off the team’s third 30-win season in five years, Fordham has been predicted to win the 2026 Atlantic 10 softball championship, voted on by the league’s nine head coaches in the annual preseason poll released on Friday.
Earning 75 points in the poll, including five first-place votes, Fordham enters the 2026 slate as the league’s preseason favorite after going 30-26 with a 17-9 mark in conference play last year. The Rams boasted the top batting average in the Atlantic 10, reaching the 2025 A-10 Championship series as the No. 3 seed before falling in a pair of walk-offs to No. 2 Saint Louis.
The Rams return 14 of 19 players from last year’s roster, including all-conference first team selections Nicki Sudall and Neleh Nogay, as well as second team choices Eva Koratsis, Kate McGuire, and Holly Beeman. Elizabeth Gaisior, a rising sophomore, earned All-Rookie Team honors last season. Nogay, one of the nation’s top baserunners, set an A-10 single-season record with 46 stolen bases on 50 attempts – eight more than any player in league history.
Dayton, the 2024 and 2025 A-10 Regular Season Champion, placed second in the poll with 68 points and two first-place votes. The Flyers return two first team all-conference selections from the squad that went 30-18 last year, 17-5 in league play: infielder Kirnan Bailey and pitcher Izzy Kemp. The 2024 A-10 Rookie of the Year, Bailey finished last season ranked 25
th nationally with 0.23 sac bunts per game, adding 81 assists defensively. Kemp made 20 starts for the Flyers last year, averaging 9.4 strikeouts per outing with a 2.09 ERA.
Defending A-10 Champion Saint Louis came in third in the preseason poll with 62 points including two first-place votes. The Billikens put together a magical 2025 postseason run, dropping their first matchup of the A-10 Championship to Fordham before reeling off four consecutive victories on their path to the title, including a win against No. 1 seed Dayton and two against the Rams. Saint Louis returns A-10 Co-Player of the Year Abby Mallo, a senior catcher whose 82 RBI’s last season shattered the league record, tying the A-10 record with 20 home runs while leading the conference in total bases (140) and runners caught stealing (14).
After producing a 30-25 overall record with a 15-11 mark in league play, Saint Joseph’s placed fourth in the preseason poll by drawing 50 points. George Washington followed the Hawks with 44 points to place fifth, returning A-10 All-Conference First Team selection Ashley Corpuz and A-10 All-Rookie Team members Kaylee Layfield and Emi Todoroki.
Loyola Chicago placed sixth in the preseason poll with 38 points, while George Mason trailed closely behind in seventh with 34 points. Rhode Island (20) and St. Bonaventure (14) rounded out the list in eighth and ninth, respectively.
The 2026 A-10 Softball Championship will take place from May 6-9 at the Billiken Sports Center in St. Louis.
2026 Atlantic 10 Softball Preseason Poll
- Fordham (5) – 75
- Dayton (2) – 68
- Saint Louis (2) - 62
- Saint Joseph’s – 50
- George Washington – 44
- Loyola Chicago – 38
- George Mason – 34
- Rhode Island – 20
- St. Bonaventure – 14