The first NCAA Division II women's soccer NCAA Power Index (NPI) regional rankings for 2026 were released on Monday (Oct. 12) morning, with the No. 19-ranked Ashland University women landing in the No. 3 spot in the Midwest Region.
Ashland sits at 9-2-2 overall and 7-1-1 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, and its next game will be at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 15) at Walsh (6-6, 5-4).
"A great response from our team last week," said Eagle head coach
Cayleb Paulino of his team's 2-1 win over Northwood on Thursday (Oct. 8) at Ferguson Field. "I thought we had some of our best training sessions we have had all year. We had a great conversation as a group about getting back to what our standards and expectations are as a program and how do we live up to them daily.
"This late in the year, getting a result is not easy and you can't take winning a conference game for granted. Especially against an opponent you have played already in the year. I thought we came out with a new sense of urgency, and players were flying all over the field. There are definitely some areas we have to clean up, but thought we were constantly putting our opponent under pressure and were seeking to get goals not hoping they happened. Another opportunity for us to build on the success we found last week and continue to grow to get better."
NPI regional rankings will be released in D-II women's soccer on Oct. 19, Oct. 26 (and daily thereafter), and Nov. 2. The NCAA Division II women's soccer selection show will be on NCAA.com at 7 p.m. on Nov. 9.
Ashland women's soccer has qualified for the D-II postseason 15 previous times (1997-2004, 2018-19, 2021-25) – making the national semifinal in 1998.
A 56-team tournament (anywhere from 6-8 teams in each of eight regions), the D-II postseason will begin on Nov. 13. The 2026 NCAA Division II women's soccer national championship game will be in in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 5.
In the Midwest Region, three automatic bids come from the tournament champions in the Great Midwest, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The other five bids are at-large. Thirty-seven teams are eligible for postseason – 12 from the Great Midwest, 10 from the GLIAC and 15 from the GLVC.
2026 NCAA DIVISION II MIDWEST REGION WOMEN'S SOCCER NPI RANKINGS
| TEAM |
FIRST RANKING |
| Grand Valley State |
1 |
| Missouri-St. Louis |
2 |
| ASHLAND UNIVERSITY |
3 |
| Cedarville |
4 |
| Wayne State |
5 |
| McKendree |
6 |
| Findlay |
7 |
| Thomas More |
8 |
| Northern Michigan |
9 |
| Davenport |
10 |
