JOPLIN, Mo. – Fifth ranked Missouri Southern softball (53-8) travels to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the 2026 NCAA Division II Women's College World Series this week. 
 
The Lions are the second national seed at the World Series and will face No. 7 Seed (RV) Glenville State Thursday at 3 p.m., CT at Frost Stadium at Warner Park.
 
Live stats and live stream for the Lions' 2026 World Series Opener can be found on NCAA.com.

With a win over Glenville State, MSSU would face the winner of No. 3 seed (#3-ranked) North Georgia and No. 6 seed (#14-ranked) McKendree Friday at 1:30 p.m., CT. 


Gusano's is the Official Watch Party Destination for the 2026 NCAA Division II Women's College World Series. Gusano's located at 3929 East 7th Street E in Joplin will be streaming Missouri Southern's games at the World Series beginning with Thursday's matchup against No. 7 Seed (RV) Glenville State.


 
2026 Missouri Southern Softball
MSSU captured its first-ever Super Regional title and will compete in its third World Series (1990, 1992, previous two times) in program history.
 
The Lions will compete at the NCAA Division II Women's College World Series for the first time since 1992 when Missouri Southern was crowned National Champions.
 
MSSU has registered a program-best 53 wins in 2026 which surpassed the 2001 season's mark of 52-12.
 
The Lions coaching staff of head coach Hallie Blackney, associate head coach Lexi Kinnaird and graduate assistant Caitlyn Wells were named the 2026 MIAA Coaching Staff of the Year. For Blackney, it marked her second MIAA coach of the year honors, also earning the laurel in 2021.
 
Under this group's leadership, MSSU captured the 2026 MIAA Regular-Season Championship (sixth in program history), the 2026 MIAA Tournament Championship (sixth in program history), the 2026 NCAA Central Regional 1 title (third in program history) and the 2026 NCAA Central Super Regional title (first in program history).
 
MSSU won 20 MIAA contests (20-4) in 2026, which is the most since posting a 21-5 conference mark in 2023.
 
The Lions are currently ranked fifth in the NFCA Coaches Poll and were the top seed in the NCAA Division II Central Region. MSSU rose as high as a program-best third in the NFCA Coaches Poll (NFCA online records go back as far as 1995) on March 17.
 
Blackney registered her 200th career victory in January and 250th career victory in the Central Region 1 clincher on May 16. She has a career record of 252-138 over eight seasons at the helm of MSSU.

The Lions are led in the circle by 2026 MIAA Pitcher of the Year Kiki Pickens (back-to-back seasons) and 2026 MIAA Freshman of the Year Emily Davis.
 
Pickens, Davis, left fielder Bailey Dillon and first base Katie Gray were each named to the 2026 NFCA Division II Central All-Region and 2026 D2CCA All-Central Region Teams.
 
2026 Accolades
Kiki Pickens - 2026 MIAA Pitcher of the Year (Back-to-back seasons), 2026 All-MIAA First Team, 2026 MIAA All-Tournament Team, Most Outstanding Player for the 2026 MIAA Championship Tournament, 2026 NFCA Division II Central First Team All-Region, 2026 D2CCA All-Central Region First Team
 
Emily Davis - 2026 MIAA Freshman of the Year (Back-to-back seasons for MSSU, Bailey Dillon in 2025), 2026 All-MIAA First Team, 2026 MIAA Gold Glove Team (P), 2026 NFCA Division II Central Second Team All-Region, 2026 D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team
 
Katie Gray - 2026 All-MIAA First Team, 2026 NFCA Division II Central Second Team All-Region, 2026 D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team
 
Bailey Dillon - 2026 All-MIAA First Team, 2026 NFCA Division II Central First Team All-Region, 2026 D2CCA All-Central Region First Team:
 
Taylor Nuckolls - 2026 All-MIAA Second Team, 2026 MIAA Gold Glove Team (SS), 2026 MIAA All-Tournament Team
 
Carsen Tinkler - 2026 All-MIAA Third Team, 2026 MIAA "A Game" Scholar-Athlete for Softball (top GPA in MIAA for softball, 4.0 GPA), 2026 MIAA All-Tournament Team
 
Maddie Rolfs - 2026 All-MIAA Honorable Mention, 2026 MIAA All-Tournament Team
 
Gianna Saggese - 2026 MIAA All-Tournament Team