LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The NFCA released their weekly coaches poll for Division II softball on Tuesday morning, with Northwest Nazarene continuing their ascension in the rankings by moving up three spots to No. 18 in the nation. 

The Nighthawks opened GNAC play in a dominant fashion over the weekend, sweeping four games from Simon Fraser to improve to 16-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play. The 16-2 start to the year is the best in program history, surpassing the 14-2 start to the 2021 campaign.

As has been the case with every new ranking this season, the No. 18 position is the highest that NNU softball has ever been in the NFCA DII poll.

North Georgia is at the top of the poll with all 16 first-place votes, followed by West Texas A&M, Rogers State, Tampa, and UT Tyler in the top five. Other West Region members in the poll are Cal State San Marcos at No. 9, Western Washington at No. 15, and Concordia at No. 22.

The Nighthawks will take on their GNAC rival and 15th ranked Western Washington in a premier top-20 matchup this weekend, playing four games in Bellingham on March 15 and 16.