The Wayne State softball team was picked to finish seventh in the 2026 Northern Sun Conference Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll released Friday morning by the league office in Burnsville, Minnesota.  The Wildcats collected 138 points in voting by league coaches after finishing 31-24 overall last season and eighth in the NSIC with a 14-13 league record.  Junior outfielder Emilee Marth and redshirt sophomore pitcher Kennadi Borngrebe were listed as the Wildcat Players to Watch.
            Five-time defending NSIC regular season champion Augustana was listed as the team to beat this season receiving 221 points and 12 first-place votes. Winona State was second with the remaining four first place votes and 202 points. Rounding out the top five teams were Minnesota State (197), Minnesota Duluth (183) and St. Cloud State (175).
            Concordia-St. Paul was sixth with 148 points followed by Wayne State, Minot State (133), Southwest Minnesota State (133) and Sioux Falls (96) in the top 10.
            Marth, a junior outfielder from Nebraska City (Nebraska City HS), is Wayne State's Player to Watch this season. Last season she earned All NSIC Second Team honors after leading the 'Cats in most offensive categories with a .357 batting average, a new school record 18 doubles, 60 hits, 6 home runs and 32 RBI. Marth had 16 multi-hit games and was second on the team with eight multi-RBI contests.
            Borngrebe is a redshirt sophomore pitcher from Elkhorn South High School. Last season she led the Wildcat pitching staff with a 13-10 record and 2.67 ERA striking out 158 batters (4^th-NSIC) in 136.1 innings pitched and four shutouts while tied for eighth in the NSIC in opponent batting average (.230). Borngrebe also hit .260 in 49 games with 39 hits, two home runs and 22 RBI.
             Wayne State is scheduled to open the 2026 softball season on Friday, February 6^th hosting Chadron State and Nebraska-Kearney in the Wildcat Dome triangular.     
           
2026 NSIC Preseason Softball Coaches' Poll
1.         Augustana (12)               221 pts.
2.         Winnona State (4)          202 pts.
3.         Minnesota State            197 pts.
4.         Minnesota Duluth          183 pts.
5.         St. Cloud State              175 pts.
6.         Concordia St-Paul         148 pts.
7.         Wayne State                138 pts.
8.         Minot State                   133 pts.
9.         Southwest Minn. State   111 pts.
10.        Sioux Falls                    96  pts.
11.        MSU Moorhead             80  pts.
12.        Bemidji State                 68  pts.
13.        Northern State                56  pts.
14.        Minnesota Crookston    43  pts.
15.        Jamestown                   42  pts.
16.        University of Mary         27 pts.