LANCASTER, Pa. – Defending champion Swarthmore has been chosen as the favorite to repeat in the 2026 Centennial Conference softball preseason poll. The Garnet compiled all eight possible first-place votes and 64 points to earn the top spot in a vote among CC head coaches.
Gettysburg, the 2024 champion and 2025 runner-up, received the remaining first-place vote and totaled 56 points to place second in the poll. Muhlenberg was selected to finish third with 50 points, while Ursinus (41) and Washington College (31) were also projected playoff teams in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Dickinson took sixth in the poll with 26 points, followed by Haverford (20), Franklin & Marshall (19) and McDaniel (13).
The 2026 campaign begins this weekend for a trio of CC squads, as Gettysburg, McDaniel and Ursinus are scheduled to open up play in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. All nine CC teams will begin the season by mid March, with CC play set to open on Saturday, March 28. The five-team CC playoffs are set for April 28-30 and May 2-3.
2026 Centennial Conference Softball Preseason Poll
| Rank | Institution (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. Swarthmore (8) |
64 |
| 2. Gettysburg (1) |
56 |
| 3. Muhlenberg |
50 |
| 4. Ursinus |
41 |
| 5. Washington College |
31 |
| 6. Dickinson |
26 |
| 7. Haverford |
20 |
| 8. Franklin & Marshall |
19 |
| 9. McDaniel |
13 |
2026 Schedule | 2025 Championship | 2025 All-Centennial Team
The 2025 Centennial softball season was arguably the best year in conference history, as the CC qualified two teams for the NCAA postseason for the first time in conference history, a CC team won a regional tournament for just the second time, and a conference-record four players were named All-Americans.
In a hard-fought CC tournament, Swarthmore outlasted Gettysburg 9-2 in the winner-take-all championship game to capture its second Centennial crown in program history. It marked the Garnet's second title in three years after also winning it all in 2023.
Both the Garnet and Bullets went on to represent the CC in the NCAA Tournament. Swarthmore went 1-2 at the Virginia Beach Regional to bow out of the tournament with a program-record 33 wins. The Bullets hosted their own regional and became just the second CC team to win a regional (along with Haverford in 2016). Gettysburg defeated John Jay, MIT and Ramapo en route to the regional crown and a berth in the Super Regionals. The Bullets were then eliminated by eventual national runner-up Virginia Wesleyan in the Super Regional round, ending the year with a 41-8 record, the second-most wins in CC history (Ursinus won 42 games in 1996).
With seven different champions over the past 10 years, Centennial softball remains one of the more unpredictable conference sports with consistent parity on a year-to-year basis. Swarthmore and Gettysburg have had the most recent success, with the Garnet owning two titles in the past three years and three championship appearances over the past four years, and the Bullets reaching the title game in each of the last two seasons with one championship. All nine teams own at least one conference championship, with McDaniel leading the pack with seven. Gettysburg and Muhlenberg are tied for second-most with six apiece, while Ursinus has five.
Headlining the list of conference returners are a pair of All-Americans - Swarthmore sophomore pitcher Lilly Goldberg and Gettysburg junior outfielder Audrey Bergan. Goldberg was named the NFCA Division III National Rookie of the Year - the first-ever CC player to receive that honor - and was also the first CC freshman to be named an All-American. Goldberg is also the reigning the CC Pitcher of the Year and a first team All-CC selection.
Bergan returns to Gettysburg after earning third team All-America honors last spring as an outfielder. The junior is the lone two-time All-Region honoree back in the conference this spring. Other returning All-Region performers include Swarthmore's Goldberg, Gettysburg sophomore outfielder Jamie Shaw, Haverford sophomore utility Kamaha'o Bode and Swarthmore senior outfielder Iris Barone.
Twenty-eight All-Centennial performers return to the CC this spring, with each team welcoming back at least one all-star. Ten of those 28 players are multi-time all-stars, including a pair of three-time selections - Swarthmore's Barone and Ursinus senior pitcher Christa Andrusiewicz.
Returning All-American (2)
Audrey Bergan, Gettysburg, Jr., DP/OF (2025 NFCA Third Team)
Lilly Goldberg, Swarthmore, So., P (2025 NFCA Third Team)
Returning All-Region (5)
Audrey Bergan, Gettysburg, Jr., DP/OF (2025 NFCA First Team, 2024 NFCA Second Team)
Jamie Shaw, Gettysburg, So., OF (2025 NFCA Third Team)
Kamaha'o Bode, Haverford, So., Util (2025 NFCA Third Team)
Lilly Goldberg, Swarthmore, So., P (2025 NFCA First Team)
Iris Barone, Swarthmore, Sr., OF (2025 NFCA Second Team)
Returning All-Centennial (28)
Elizabeth Raefski, Dickinson, So., OF (2025 Honorable Mention)
Abby Kohan, Dickinson, Sr., 2B (2024 Honorable Mention, 2023 First Team)
Jane Lloyd, Dickinson, Sr., OF (2024 Honorable Mention, 2023 Rookie OTY & Honorable Mention)
Erin McMahon, Dickinson, Jr., 1B (2024 Second Team)
Jessie Sandusky, Dickinson, Sr., SS (2024 Second Team)
Kaylie Renner, Dickinson, Sr., Util (2024 Honorable Mention)
Audrey Bergan, Gettysburg, Jr., Util (2025 First Team, 2024 First Team)
Jamie Shaw, Gettysburg, So., OF (2025 First Team)
Anika Pelekis, Gettysburg, Jr., SS (2025 Second Team)
Renee Laczkowski, Gettysburg, So., 3B (2025 Second Team)
Morgan DeFreitas, Gettysburg, Jr., 1B (2025 Honorable Mention)
Addie Sapirstein, Haverford, Sr., OF (2025 Second Team)
Kyra Van Denburgh, Haverford, Jr., Util (2025 Second Team)
Lauren Martin, Haverford, Jr., OF (2024 Rookie OTY & First Team)
Abby Litchfield, Haverford, Sr., C (2024 Second Team)
Ally Mcbride, McDaniel, So., P (2025 Second Team)
Scooter Hulsen, Muhlenberg, Sr., OF (2025 Second Team, 2024 Honorable Mention)
Skyla Campisi, Muhlenberg, Jr., Util (2025 First Team)
Lane Barron, Swarthmore, Sr., P (2025 Honorable Mention, 2024 Second Team)
Avery McClure, Swarthmore, Sr., 2B (2025 Honorable Mention, 2023 Honorable Mention)
Iris Barone, Swarthmore, Sr., OF (2025 Second Team, 2024 Honorable Mention, 2023 Honorable Mention)
Lilly Goldberg, Swarthmore, So., P (2025 Rookie OTY & First Team)
Lia Fong, Swarthmore, So., SS (2025 Second Team)
Christa Andrusiewicz, Ursinus, Sr., P (2025 Honorable Mention, 2024 Honorable Mention, 2023 Second Team)
Kayla Carr, Ursinus, Sr., DP/3B (2025 First Team, 2024 Second Team)
Lucy Wolf, Ursinus, So., P (2025 Second Team)
Jenna Harper, Washington College, Sr., 1B (2024 First Team, 2023 Second Team)
Lilly Wenzel, Washington College, Sr., DP (2025 First Team)
