NCAA Bracket
Three Centennial Conference teams will compete in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament. CC champion Johns Hopkins earned the conference's automatic bid while Swarthmore and Dickinson secured at-large bids into the field of 64.
This marks the eighth time in Centennial history that at least three teams have qualified for the NCAA postseason. The CC has sent three teams to the dance six different times (2005-2015-2016-2017-2021-2026). Four teams earned spots in 2023 while the conference record remains the five-bid year of 2019.
Forty-three conferences were awarded automatic qualification for the 2026 championship. The other 21 berths were reserved for at-large selections designated by the NCAA Power Index (NPI). All games, except the semifinals and final, will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. Winners of the four sectionals will advance to the semifinals December 4 and 6, at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, with Capital University and Greater Columbus Sports Commission serving as hosts.
For the second consecutive year and the 13th time in program history, the Johns Hopkins women's soccer team has been selected as the host of the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Centennial Conference-Champion Blue Jays are one of 16 opening-weekend hosts as the 2026 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament bracket was announced on Monday morning. Each of the 16 hosts will welcome three teams to their campus for the first two rounds with two games on Saturday, November 14 and one game on Sunday, November 15.
Johns Hopkins (15-1-2) will host Rivier (NH) (15-4-3) in the first round with Christopher Newport (11-2-4) playing Hamilton (11-3-3) in the other first round game at Homewood Field. The winners of Saturday's first round games will meet in the second round on Sunday. Johns Hopkins and Rivier will be meeting for the first time.
Johns Hopkins is making its 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including its 21st consecutive dating back to 2005. The Blue Jays earned an automatic bid to the tournament by topping Dickinson, 1-0, in the Centennial Conference Championship game on Sunday. Johns Hopkins is 43-21-3 all-time in the tournament with one national championship to its credit (2022). The Blue Jays have twice advanced to the final four, have made nine appearances in the NCAA Quarterfinals and have advanced to the Sweet 16 a total of 13 times.
Swarthmore will open NCAA Tournament play versus Brevard at Batten University in Virginia Beach, Va. The Garnet (12-2-3) will take on the Tornados (14-1-5) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. In the other first-round match, the host Marlins will battle Marymount on Saturday at 11 a.m. The two victors will square off in the second round on Sundayat 1 p.m.
Swarthmore earned an at-large bid after reaching the Centennial Conference semifinals. The Garnet are making their second consecutive appearance in the tournament and ninth in the last 12 seasons. Last year, Swarthmore advanced to the Round of 16.
Dickinson is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. The Red Devils will host the opening two rounds in Carlisle. The action will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday with Rowan taking on Worcester State, before Dickinson (14-3-4) takes on Bridgewater (Va.) (13-4-2) at 1:30 p.m. The two winners will return to the Miller Memorial Field pitch on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.
