Saints Punch Ticket to NJCAA World Series
Santa Fe Softball returns to the national stage for the first time since 2013
Charlotte, NC
Santa Fe Softball returns to the national stage for the first time since 2013, earning the 11th seed in the 2026 NJCAA DI Softball World Series held in Oxford, Alabama.
The Saints will be headed to Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Alabama, just an hour west of the capital city of Birmingham to begin play in the DI Softball World Series on Monday, May 25th, with their first game against #6 Odessa College at 5:45pm CT (6:45pm EST).
Santa Fe finished fourth in the FCSAA DI Softball Championship and are one of four teams from the NJCAA Region 8 to receive a bid to the national tournament. The Saints are joined by fellow FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 teams #1 Florida SouthWestern, #2 Northwest Florida State, and #12 Eastern Florida.
2026 marks the first time since 2016 any Santa Fe Athletics team has made the national tournament, with both baseball and volleyball making their respective national tournaments that season.
Santa Fe sits at 13th nationally with 72 home runs and 21st with 395 RBIs. They boast four All-FCSAA players (Molly Bender and Belle Mancillas First Team, McKenzie Cox and Sydney English Second Team) as well as 9 All-Citrus Conference Players (First Team: Bender, Cox, English, Mancillas, Ellie Frierson, Morgyn Stevens | Second Team: Chloe Woods, Haylee McCrea, Miranda Murch)
Bender was named Citrus North Player of the Year while Mancillas was named Citrus North Pitcher of the Year.
Molly Bender stands Top-10 in the country in doubles (24), stolen bases (48), runs (84), and hit by pitches (17). McKenzie Cox is 18th in the country with her team leading 18 home runs and is 12th in total bases with 160. Mancillas carries the most innings on the team with 170.2 while holding a team low 1.35 ERA. She has added 150 strikeouts as her opponents have hit just .199 against her.
The FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 continues to send multiple teams annually to the national tournament, sending 3+ teams in each of the last three years.
You can view the 2026 NJCAA DI Softball World Series Bracket here and also follow along on the NJCAA Network