When pursuing a degree in today's world, student athletes have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Division II Women's Softball ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Our analysis looked at 260 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for D2 Women's Softball athletes. Our ranking is based on several objective factors, including the school's overall quality and the athletic competitiveness of the school. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another. So, even if a school has a great team, it won't place well if it is also considered a low quality college or university.
We've developed a number of other tools and rankings to help you make your college decision. Start by filtering this list by location and then explore our other rankings that feature schools great for different groups of students such as online students or returnings adults.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
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Top Colleges in the U.S. for D2 Women's Softball athletes
Our 2023 rankings named Augustana University the best school for D2 Women’s Softball athletes working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 569 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Softball team at Augustana Sioux Falls made $680,078 in revenue.
On top of its placing in this ranking, Augustana Sioux Falls also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full Augustana University Sports Report
The excellent sports programs at Harding University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for D2 Women’s Softball athletes. Located in Searcy, Arkansas, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 801 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the D2 Women’s Softball team at Harding took home $411,251 in revenue.
Full Harding University Sports Report
You’ll join some of the best athletes around if you attend Adelphi University. The school came in at #3 in this year’s ranking. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Garden City, New York, and it awarded 1,267 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the D2 Women’s Softball team at Adelphi took home $452,809 in revenue.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Molloy College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Colleges for D2 Women’s Softball athletes list. Rockville Centre, New York is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 910 students in .
The team at Molloy took home $345,804 in revenue and paid out $311,661 in expenses in recent times. Happily, this means that the team turned a profit of $34,143.
On top of its placing in this ranking, Molloy also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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The excellent sports programs at Rollins College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for D2 Women’s Softball athletes. Rollins is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Winter Park, Florida. It awarded 666 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D2 Women’s Softball team at Rollins brought home $542,305 in revenue in a single year.
In addition to its great ranking here, Rollins is in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Read full sports report on Rollins College
St. Mary’s University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in San Antonio, Texas, and it awarded 471 bachelor’s degrees in .
St. Mary’s brought in $609,487 while tallying up $606,672 in expenses for its D2 Women’s Softball team. Thus, the team actually made $2,815, which isn’t bad at all.
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Winona State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking, coming in at #7. Winona State is a medium-sized public school situated in Winona, Minnesota. It awarded 1,483 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Softball team at Winona State made $475,569 in revenue.
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West Chester University of Pennsylvania did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking, coming in at #8. West Chester, Pennsylvania is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 3,524 students in .
WCUPA brought in $376,891 while tallying up $356,078 in expenses for its D2 Women’s Softball team. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $20,813 in profit.
Full West Chester University of Pennsylvania Sports Report
Rockhurst University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball list. Rockhurst is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Kansas City, Missouri. It awarded 619 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the D2 Women’s Softball team at Rockhurst took home $355,380 in revenue.
Full Rockhurst University Sports Report
With a ranking of #10, California Baptist University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking. Cal Baptist is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 1,963 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D2 Women’s Softball team at Cal Baptist made $1,814,720 in revenue, while incurring $1,756,481 in expenses. Thus, the team actually made $58,239, which isn’t bad at all. The team has a respectable academic progress rate of 940.
Full California Baptist University Sports Report
Merrimack College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking, coming in at #10. Merrimack is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in North Andover, Massachusetts. It awarded 1,043 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D2 Women’s Softball team at Merrimack brought home $732,247 in revenue in a single year.
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With a ranking of #12, Grand Valley State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking. Located in Allendale, Michigan, the large public school awarded 5,413 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
The team at GVSU took home $622,717 in revenue and paid out $566,229 in expenses in recent times. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $56,488 in profit.
Read full sports report on Grand Valley State University
Wayne State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking, coming in at #13. Wayne State is located in Detroit, Michigan and, has a large student population. In , this school awarded 4,132 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Softball team at Wayne State made $429,191 in revenue.
Full Wayne State University Sports Report
University of California - San Diego came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking. University of California - San Diego is a large public school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 9,422 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Softball team at UCSD made $783,180 in revenue.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. UCSD excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Le Moyne College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking, coming in at #15. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Syracuse, New York, and it awarded 721 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D2 Women’s Softball team at LeMoyne made $499,638 in revenue, while incurring $479,488 in expenses. That boils down to a yearly profit of $20,150 for the sports team.
LeMoyne excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Western Washington University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball list. Bellingham, Washington is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 3,467 students in .
The D2 Women’s Softball team at WWU brought home $516,900 in revenue in a single year.
Full Western Washington University Sports Report
University of Alabama in Huntsville ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball list. UAH is a medium-sized public school situated in Huntsville, Alabama. It awarded 1,685 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Softball team at UAH made $622,184 in revenue.
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Gannon University landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Erie, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 648 bachelor’s degrees in .
Gannon brought in $348,250 while tallying up $341,218 in expenses for its D2 Women’s Softball team. That boils down to a yearly profit of $7,032 for the sports team.
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University of Missouri - St Louis did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking, coming in at #19. UMSL is located in Saint Louis, Missouri and, has a fairly large student population. In , this school awarded 1,786 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
The D2 Women’s Softball team at UMSL brought home $418,880 in revenue in a single year.
Full University of Missouri - St Louis Sports Report
Cedarville University landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking. Cedarville is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Cedarville, Ohio. It awarded 782 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the D2 Women’s Softball team at Cedarville took home $270,325 in revenue.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. In addition to its great ranking here, Cedarville is in the top 20% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Full Cedarville University Sports Report
Saint Anselm College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking, coming in at #21. Located in Manchester, New Hampshire, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 611 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
St. Anselm College brought in $449,055 while tallying up $447,049 in expenses for its D2 Women’s Softball team. Happily, this means that the team turned a profit of $2,006.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. St. Anselm College also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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Nova Southeastern University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking, coming in at #22. Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 1,547 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D2 Women’s Softball team at NUS Florida made $543,147 in revenue.
Full Nova Southeastern University Sports Report
Truman State University landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking. Located in Kirksville, Missouri, the small public school handed out 965 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the D2 Women’s Softball team at Truman State took home $297,837 in revenue.
Read full sports report on Truman State University
With a ranking of #24, Georgia College & State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking. Georgia College & State University is a medium-sized public school located in Milledgeville, Georgia that handed out 1,220 bachelor’s degrees in .
The team at Georgia College took home $227,264 in revenue and paid out $206,393 in expenses in recent times. That boils down to a yearly profit of $20,871 for the sports team.
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Azusa Pacific University landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division II Women’s Softball ranking. Azusa Pacific is a private not-for-profit institution located in Azusa, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,526 bachelor’s degrees in .
Azusa Pacific brought in $649,104 while tallying up $636,484 in expenses for its D2 Women’s Softball team. Thus, the team actually made $12,620, which isn’t bad at all.
Read full sports report on Azusa Pacific University
Rest of the Top 15% Best Colleges for D2 Women's Softball athletes
Not only did these schools make the top 39 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 25 schools only.
References
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
The academic progress rate (APR) of each team was made available by the NCAA.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
When pursuing a degree in today's world, student athletes have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Division II Women's Softball ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
