HELENA, Mont. – Dickinson State (N.D.) was the coaches' preseason pick to win the 2026 Frontier Conference Softball title, the conference preseason poll was announced Monday by the conference office.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. The Frontier Conference added a softball conference this season, with eight members participating.
First place is worth seven points, second place is worth six points, third place is worth five points, and so on to the last place with one point.
Valley City State is coming off a 26-23 2025 season in which they lost to the University of Jamestown in the NSAA Conference tournament championship game. The Vikings are set to open the season at the UJ Dome Tournament on February 6th and 7th.
Returning for the Vikings will be
Logan Gronberg who led VCSU in many offensive categories in 2025 including batting average (.483), home runs (10), and RBI (51). Other returners are
Kylee Banerd,
Kennadi Stone,
Katelyn MacNeill,
Ashlyn Schumacher,
Lauren Nixon,
Jenna Decker,
Cooper Klaahsen,
Avery Kuklinski,
Maddy Hazelton, and
Halle Gullett.
The Blue Hawks collected four first place votes and 46 points to earn the top spot in the Frontier Conference Softball Coaches' Preseason Poll. DiSU went 29-16 overall record last season.
Bellevue (Neb.) was second in the preseason poll after picking up two first place votes and 42 points. Valley City State (N.D.) was third with one first place vote and 37 points. The Vikings fell short in last year's conference championship game in the former North Star Athletic Association.
Carroll (Mont.) tallied the final first place vote and 33 points to finish fourth in the preseason poll. Providence (Mont.) was fifth with 22 points, edging Mayville State (N.D.) by one point (21 points). Bismarck State (N.D.) placed seventh with 12 points, followed by Dakota State (S.D.) eighth with 11 points.
The softball school members are scheduled to play a total of 28 conference contests in the spring, playing a four-game series during the conference season. The Frontier Conference softball season starts in mid-March 2026 (March 20-21 weekend).
The 2026 Frontier Conference Softball Tournament will be hosted by Dickinson State at Bravera Field at the Sanford Sports Complex in Dickinson, N.D. The postseason tournament kicks off Thursday, April 30, 2026.
The winner of the conference postseason tournament receives an automatic bid to the NAIA Softball National Tournament Opening Round on May 11-14, 2026, at various campus sites. The opening round winners move on to the NAIA Softball World Series at South Commons Complex in Columbus, Ga., on May 21-27, 2026.
Stay tuned to fcsports.org for the 2026 Frontier Conference Softball Virtual Media Day schedule in mid-January.
Below is the complete 2026 Frontier Conference Softball Coaches' Preseason Poll:
| 2026 Frontier Conference Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Total Points |
| 1 |
Dickinson State (N.D.) (4) |
46 |
| 2 |
Bellevue (Neb.) (2) |
42 |
| 3 |
Valley City State (N.D.) (1) |
37 |
| 4 |
Carroll (Mont.) (1) |
33 |
| 5 |
Providence (Mont.) |
22 |
| 6 |
Mayville State (N.D.) |
21 |
| 7 |
Bismarck State (N.D.) |
12 |
| 8 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
11 |
Don't forget to download the Frontier Conference app, in partnership with Snap! Mobile. The app is free to download in the
App Store on Apple or
Google Play for Android.
Click here to download the Frontier Conference app.
