The NCAA released its fourth set of NCAA Power Index (NPI) regional rankings for Division II women's soccer on Monday (Nov. 2) morning, and No. 22-ranked Ashland University is slotted No. 5 in the Midwest Region.
Set to play in a Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal on Thursday (Nov. 5) at 4 p.m. vs. Findlay (13-2-4), the Eagles are 13-3-2 overall the fall.
"Every week, our goal is to go 2-0," said Ashland head coach
Cayleb Paulino. "If you stack enough 2-0 weeks together, you put yourself in a position to be successful. This week's mindset hasn't changed for our group. The job is to go 2-0.
"We know what these games mean. We have been in this position before as a program. We have to continue to instill belief in each other when the stakes are much higher."
NPI regional rankings will continue to be released in D-II women's soccer daily until the NCAA Division II women's soccer selection show 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 playoffs will begin on Nov. 13. The 2026 NCAA Division II women's soccer national championship game will be 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 |
FOURTH RANKING |
THIRD RANKING |
SECOND RANKING |
FIRST RANKING |
| Missouri-St. Louis |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Cedarville |
2 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
| McKendree |
3 |
5 |
3 |
6 |
| Wayne State |
4 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
| ASHLAND UNIVERSITY |
5 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
| Grand Valley State |
6 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
| Findlay |
7 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
| Thomas More |
8 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
| Davenport |
9 |
10 |
11 |
10 |
| Missouri S&T |
10 |
11 |
10 |
13 |
