The celebration was on in Lacey, Wash., Saturday afternoon, as the Saints earned their third GNAC regular-season title.
The celebration was on in Lacey, Wash., Saturday afternoon, as the Saints earned their third GNAC regular-season title.

Saints secure GNAC softball title, top seed for championship tourney

5/2/2026 4:58:09 PM

By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – For the third time in program history, Saint Martin’s is the Great Northwest Athletic Conference softball regular-season champion.
 
The Saints took matters into their own hands on the final weekend of conference play, sweeping a four-game series against Simon Fraser to capture the No. 1 overall seed.
 
2026 GNAC Softball Championships9680
May 7-9, 2026 – Gary & Bobbi Frederick Field – Central Washington University – Ellensburg, Wash.
All times listed are Pacific
Thursday, May 7
Game 1: Noon - No. 2 Seed Western Washington vs. No. 3 Seed Northwest Nazarene
Game 2: 2:30 p.m. - No. 1 Seed Saint Martin’s vs. No. 4 Seed Simon Fraser
 
Friday, May 8
Game 3: 10 a.m. - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4: 12:30 p.m. - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (Elimination Game)
Game 5: 3 p.m. - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 (Elimination Game)
 
Saturday, May 9
Game 6: Noon - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary), 30 minutes following game 6
 
Tickets: Tickets are available for purchase online here.
Live Video: Live video streams of all GNAC Championships games will be available via the GNAC Network online here.
Live Stats: Click Here.
 
Winning its first regular-season title in more than a decade, SMU will enter the conference tournament with a record of 33-17 overall including a mark of 18-6 in conference play. SMU’s other conference crowns came during the 2015 and 2013 regular seasons. SMU will make a bid for its second conference tournament trophy, after it won the inaugural event in the spring of 2013. This will be the Saints’ sixth consecutive GNAC Championships berth and 11th overall among the 13 total championships since 2013.
 
Finishing second in the regular-season standings was Western Washington, which went 16-8 in league play and holds an overall mark of 30-19 entering the tournament. The two-time defending GNAC Championships winners will look to become the first-ever GNAC team to win three consecutive conference tournaments. With its crowns in 2024 and 2025, WWU now has four GNAC Championships titles – the most of any GNAC school. The Vikings will be making their ninth all-time conference tournament appearance and their sixth in-a-row.
 
Northwest Nazarene is back in the GNAC Championships, securing the No. 3 seed. The Nighthawks went 15-9 in conference play to take third place, and own a record of 35-16 (.686) for the best overall mark by any conference team in 2026. NNU has won the GNAC Championships on three previous occasions, bringing trophies back to Nampa, Idaho in 2023, 2022 and 2018. This will mark the seventh conference tournament appearance all-time for the Nighthawks.
 
Completing the tournament field with the No. 4 seed was Simon Fraser, which placed fourth with a league record of 13-11. The Red Leafs finished the regular season at 15-31 overall, as they will set out to pursue what would be their first-ever conference tournament title. SFU came close last year, falling to Western Washington on Championship Saturday. Next week will mark the university’s fourth-ever appearance at the GNAC Softball Championships.