Lady Panthers Earn 8th Seed; Will Face #1 Shippensburg in NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament
ORANGEBURG, SC - After winning the 2026 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Softball Championship, the Claflin University Lady Panthers (31-12) earned the eighth seed and will compete in the 2026 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Softball Tournament. The Lady Panthers will make their third appearance in the tournament since 2021 and their second appearance as champions of the CIAA. As the eighth seed, the Claflin Lady Panthers will open the tournament against the top-seeded host Shippensburg Raiders (45-14) on Thursday at noon.
The Lady Panthers earned the automatic qualifier spot in the tournament after posting a 31-12 overall record and winning their second CIAA Softball Championship in the past four seasons. The game will feature a pair of conference champions as the host Shippensburg Raiders will enter the tournament after winning the 2026 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship.
The game will not be the first tournament meeting between the Lady Panthers and the Raiders as the two teams met in the 2022 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament where the Lady Panthers took a 5-2 win over the Raiders to advance to the championship round of the tournament.
The Lady Panthers and the Raiders are scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. start on Thursday. For more information on Lady Panthers softball, contact the Claflin University Office of Athletics Media Relations at (803) 535-5548 or log on to www.athletics.claflin.edu.
