by our College Data Analytics Team
Choosing a college as a student athlete means weighing both the classroom and the competition. Our ranking highlights 43 colleges for Women’s Softball by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
So you can compare your options, College Factual weighs a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and aid per athlete from the EADA survey), and overall school quality, drawing on NCAA, U.S. Department of Education EADA, and IPEDS data. Learn more about our ranking methodology.
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Explore the leading programs below:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology tops our 2026 ranking of the best colleges for Women's Softball. Based in Cambridge, MA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $12,440 per participant, compared with $12,440 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Williams College is one of the top schools for Women's Softball, at #2. This private not-for-profit school is set in Williamstown, MA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $14,047, against $14,047 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Amherst College came in at #3 on this year's ranking for Women's Softball. Located in Amherst, MA, Amherst College is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $19,269, compared with $19,269 spent per athlete. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Tufts University came in at #4 on this year's ranking for Women's Softball. Based in Medford, MA, Tufts University is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $17,307 per participant, against $16,174 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Wellesley College landed the #5 spot for Women's Softball. Located in Wellesley, MA, Wellesley College is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $11,632 per participant, against $11,632 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Bentley University landed the #6 spot this year. Based in Waltham, MA, Bentley University is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $20,648, against $20,559 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $8,029 per athlete.
College of the Holy Cross ranked #7 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. Based in Worcester, MA, College of the Holy Cross is a private not-for-profit institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 1000, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. About 100% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $44,453 in revenue per athlete, against $44,453 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $17,801 per athlete.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute ranked #8 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. Located in Worcester, MA, Worcester Polytechnic Institute is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $11,448 in revenue per athlete, against $11,448 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Babson College came in at #9 in this year's ranking. Babson College is a private not-for-profit school based in Wellesley, MA. The program generates about $10,028 in revenue per athlete, compared with $10,028 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Brandeis University came in at #10 in this year's ranking. Brandeis University is a private not-for-profit school based in Waltham, MA. The program generates about $14,899 in revenue per athlete, against $14,899 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Stonehill College placed #11 among the best colleges for Women's Softball. Located in Easton, MA, Stonehill College is a private not-for-profit institution. Stonehill College records an NCAA APR of 1000, alongside a GSR of 100%. Its federal graduation rate is 100%. Team revenue averages $23,518 per participant, against $23,518 in expenses. Athletic aid averages $14,278 per athlete.
Boston University ranked #12 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. Boston University is a private not-for-profit school based in Boston, MA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 996, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. About 83% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $96,496, compared with $96,496 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $27,954.
Emerson College landed the #13 spot this year. Emerson College is a private not-for-profit school based in Boston, MA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $11,575, against $10,960 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Boston College ranked #14 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. Boston College is a private not-for-profit school based in Chestnut Hill, MA. Boston College records an NCAA APR of 990, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 71%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $92,789, with expenses of about $92,789 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $29,391.
Assumption University came in at #15 in this year's ranking. Assumption University is a private not-for-profit school based in Worcester, MA. Team revenue averages $14,011 per participant, compared with $15,053 spent per athlete. The school awards about $4,778 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of Massachusetts-Amherst ranked #16 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. Located in Amherst, MA, University of Massachusetts-Amherst is a public institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 997, with a Graduation Success Rate of 94%. Its federal graduation rate is 63%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $67,766, with expenses of about $67,766 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $17,175.
Wheaton College (Massachusetts) did well this year, earning the #17 position. Based in Norton, MA, Wheaton College (Massachusetts) is a private not-for-profit institution. The program generates about $10,068 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $10,068 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
University of Massachusetts-Lowell did well this year, earning the #18 position. Based in Lowell, MA, University of Massachusetts-Lowell is a public institution. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 985, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. About 82% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $64,152 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $64,152 per participant. Athletic aid averages $11,361 per athlete.
Merrimack College landed the #19 spot this year. This private not-for-profit school is set in North Andover, MA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 977, and a 100% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 85%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $34,547, with expenses of about $34,547 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $20,394.
Wentworth Institute of Technology landed the #20 spot this year. Wentworth Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit school based in Boston, MA. The program generates about $8,203 in revenue per athlete, compared with $8,810 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Endicott College came in at #21 in this year's ranking. Endicott College is a private not-for-profit school based in Beverly, MA. The program generates about $4,901 in revenue per athlete, compared with $4,901 spent per athlete. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Massachusetts Maritime Academy placed #22 among the best colleges for Women's Softball. Based in Buzzards Bay, MA, Massachusetts Maritime Academy is a public institution. Team revenue averages $3,820 per participant, with expenses of about $4,054 per participant. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Western New England University landed the #23 spot this year. This private not-for-profit school is set in Springfield, MA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $8,589, compared with $8,589 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $0 per athlete.
Gordon College placed #24 among the best colleges for Women's Softball. Gordon College is a private not-for-profit school based in Wenham, MA. Team revenue averages $10,242 per participant, with expenses of about $8,245 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Suffolk University placed #25 among the best colleges for Women's Softball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Boston, MA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $11,396, against $11,396 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
These schools rounded out the top of the list:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This ranking is produced by College Factual, 2026 edition. Rankings consider a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and athletic aid from the federal EADA survey), and overall school quality. The current methodology measures academic-athletic quality and does not include team win/loss performance.
References
Read more about our data sources and methodologies.