40 Teams Set to Battle For the Red Banner in the 42nd NAIA Women’s Soccer National Tournament
Nov 14, 2025
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [First and Second Round Schedule/Results | Bracket ] The Road to Pensacola rolls on as 40 teams have earned a ticket to the 2025 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Tournament, First and Second Rounds presented by Select Sport America. The first and second round will take place on Thursday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 22 at campus sites around the nation, the winners from each site will then pack a bag and begin to converge on Pensacola, Fla., where the final site will be played starting on December 1 and go until only one team remains on December 8 and is crowned a champion.
Select first- and second-round games across the nation will be broadcast for free on the Urban Edge Network (UEN); others will be streamed on the host institutions’ designated or traditional broadcast partner. All first and second-round streams are produced by the host institution.
This year’s national tournament field featured two first-time qualifiers: Holy Cross (Ind.), after the Saints won the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season. The second first-time qualifier is Talladega (Ala.), which punched its ticket by winning the HBCU Athletic Conference.
This year’s field will also be the second time in the past 42 seasons that the defending national champion will not have the opportunity to defend its title. The last time that happened was in 2001, after Simon Fraser (B.C.) won the Red Banner the previous season.
Six teams in this year’s field have won it all in the past: Cumberlands (Ky.), Keiser (Fla.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Northwestern Ohio, Spring Arbor (Mich.), and William Carey (Miss.). The Blue Raiders lead the field in both red banners raised and appearances, claiming four as they make their 25th appearance in the national tournament.
The Mustangs of Morningside (Iowa) ended the longest national tournament drought of any team this year, snapping a 10-year absence.
While it’s never easy to win a national championship, this year puts an exclamation point on that. The combined record of the field is 550-117-92, boasting a winning percentage of 78.6%. The winning percentages of the field from 2024 and 2023, 79.4% and 78.3%, respectively.
Two conferences lead the way, qualifying a total of five teams each in the Crossroads League and Heart of America, while the Mid-South Conference trails, qualifying four teams this year. The Cascade Collegiate Conference and the Sooner Athletic Conference both qualified three teams.
Nineteen of the 40 teams this season have an animal as their mascot, with an eagle being the most common among them. A species of wild cats accounts for four schools, while the bear and dog mascots add up to three.
INSTITUTION CONFERENCE QUALIFICATION
Aquinas (Mich.) Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-up
Campbellsville (Ky.) Mid-South Conference Tournament Champions
Central Methodist (Mo.) Heart of America Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champions
College of Idaho Cascade Collegiate Conference Regular-Season Champions
Columbia (Mo.) American Midwest Conference Tournament Champions
Cumberland (Tenn.) Mid-South Conference At-Large
Cumberlands (Ky.) Mid-South Conference At-Large
Eastern Oregon Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament Runner-up
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) Great Southwest Athletic Conference At-Large
Friends (Kan.) Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Runner-up
Georgia Gwinnett Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) Tournament Champions
Grace (Ind.) Crossroads League Tournament Champions
Hastings (Neb.) Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament Champions
Holy Cross (Ind.) Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champions
Indiana Wesleyan Crossroads League At-Large
John Brown (Ark.) Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Champions
Keiser (Fla.) The Sun Conference At-Large
Life (Ga.) Southern States Athletic Conference At-Large
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) Mid-South Conference At-Large
Marian (Ind.) Crossroads League At-Large
Mid-American Christian (Okla.) Sooner Athletic Conference At-Large
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) Heart of America Athletic Conference At-Large
Missouri Valley Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament Champions
Morningside (Iowa) Great Plains Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champions
Northwestern Ohio Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champions
Oakland City (Ind.) River States Conference Tournament Champions
Oklahoma Wesleyan Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champions
Science and Arts (Okla.) Sooner Athletic Conference At-Large
Southeastern (Fla.) The Sun Conference Tournament Champions
Southern Oregon Cascade Collegiate Conference At-Large
Spring Arbor (Mich.) Crossroads League At-Large
St. Ambrose (Iowa) Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Champions
Talladega (Ala.) HBCU Athletic Conference Tournament Champions
Taylor (Ind.) Crossroads League At-Large
Tennessee Wesleyan Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Champions
The Master’s (Calif.) Great Southwest Athletic Conference Tournament Champions
Truett McConnell (Ga.) Appalachian Athletic Conference Regular-Season Champions
Westcliff (Calif.) California Pacific Conference Tournament Champions
William Carey (Miss.) Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Champions
Xavier (La.) Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Champions