On the strength of its upset win over Molloy College in the East Coast Conference semifinals last weekend, St. Thomas Aquinas College is ranked seventh in the NCAA’s weekly East Region poll of the top Division II softball teams released on Wednesday. It’s the highest NCAA regional ranking in program history.

STAC, now 24-11, will compete in the conference championship round for the first time, on Friday against top-seeded University of Bridgeport.

“This is very exciting for everyone associated with our program,” said STAC Head Coach Kristen Sullivan. “It’s very rewarding to be listed with some of the top Division II programs in the Northeast. Our players have worked extremely hard this season while navigating the challenges of the COVID crisis. I am very proud of them.”

Georgian Court (33-4) is ranked first in the poll with St. Anselm College (27-4), Adelphi (27-6), Molloy (29-14) and New Haven (27-7) rounding out the top five. St. Anselm (18^th) and Georgian Court (22^nd) are also ranked nationally.

The East Region poll includes 35 teams from the ECC, Northeast 10 and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.  The regional ratings are used to help determine the six teams selected to compete in the East Region post-season tourney, which awards bids to the post-season tournament champions in the NE-10, ECC and CACC and three at-large teams from those three conferences.

The East Region tourney is scheduled May 18-23 at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. The winner advances to the NCAA Div. II National Championship tournament in Colorado Springs beginning May 27.

The regional poll is familiar territory for the Spartans, who were ranked in every weekly East Region rating during the 2019 season, en route to a school-record 25 wins. (The 2020 season was suspended due to the pandemic.)

2021 Softball East Region Rankings (Through Games May 10, 2021)