NO. ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The Southern New Hampshire University softball team was chosen second in the NE10 Preseason Coaches' Poll released Thursday. The Penmen were one of three teams to receive a first-place vote.
Pace University, fresh off a season that ended with a run to the NCAA Division II semifinals, was selected by conference coaches to repeat as Northeast 10 champions in 2026. Pace received 78 points and six first-place votes. SNHU earned 65 points and one first-place vote to slot second, just ahead of Assumption University (61 points and three first-place votes).
Head Coach Deb Robitaille begins her 21st season with the Penmen. In 2025, SNHU went 26-19 (12-8 Northeast 10) and earned a trip to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship for the first time since 2019.
Three of the six players to earn All-Conference honors return for the 2026 season. Senior Peyton Feldman (Foxboro, Mass.) hit .287 with a .411 on-base percentage and was named All-Conference First Team for a second consecutive season. Senior Abby Lineman (Doylestown, Pa.) was also a First Team selection after leading the team in 2025 with five home runs and 37 RBIs. Sophomore Alyssa Abbott (Hudson, N.H.) drove in 19 runs and earned All-Rookie Team honors.
The Penmen return experience in the circle with junior Julianna Colbert (Burrillville, R.I.) and junior Charlotte Donovan (Biddeford, Maine). Colbert went 10-9 in 25 appearances (19 starts). Donovan pitched to a 1.11 ERA while working 15 games in relief, striking out 24 batters in 31.2 innings.
Other key contributors returning from 2025 include co-captain senior Sidney Rose (Davidson, N.C.), junior Kaysie DeMoura (Taunton, Mass.), and junior Mikaya Alto (Chelmsford, Mass.). Alto's .417 on-base percentage was tops on last year's team.
The Northeast 10 will feature a new format in 2026, with teams playing each of the other nine schools four times each over a pair of back-to-back doubleheaders.
SNHU is scheduled to open the season with a doubleheader at East Stroudsburg University on Friday, Feb. 20, before heading to Florida for a dozen games from March 1-7. The NE10 opening weekend is set for March 20-21 at Southern Connecticut State University. The first home doubleheader is planned for Monday, March 23 (3:00 p.m.) against Molloy University.
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2026 NE10 Softball Coaches' Poll - (First place votes)
Place
|
Team
|
Votes
|
1st Place
|
| 1 |
Pace |
78 |
6 |
| 2 |
SNHU |
65 |
1 |
| 3 |
Assumption |
61 |
3 |
| T4 |
Franklin Pierce |
52 |
|
| T4 |
Bentley |
52 |
|
| 6 |
Adelphi |
46 |
|
| 7 |
Saint Anselm |
37 |
|
| 8 |
Saint Michael's |
23 |
|
| 9 |
Southern Connecticut |
20 |
|
| 10 |
American International |
16 |
|
