LOUISVILLE, K.Y. – UMass Dartmouth softball head coach
Rachael Powers and her staff of
Kayla Kirby,
Mike Terceira and
Alex Soqui have been named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Region II Coaching Staff of the Year. This is the first-ever Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honor for Powers and her staff.
It was a historic season for UMass Dartmouth in 2026 as the Corsairs finished 33-13 overall – going 11-5 in Little East play – which was good for second overall and a First Round bye in the LEC Tournament. The Corsairs shouldered a narrow 1-0 loss to sixth-seeded UMass Boston in their opener but bounced back with a 4-1 win over fourth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State to advance.
The Corsairs then posted a 6-0 win over top-seeded Vermont State University Castleton, before eliminating UMass Boston, 10-1 on Saturday to advance to Championship Sunday. Needing two victories to claim the crown, UMD defeated fifth-seeded Rhode Island College, 2-1, before recording an 8-3 win in game two to claim their second championship title in program history.
UMD earned the automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament and wAS selected for the WPI Regional in Worcester. The Corsairs made history, defeating #18 Stockton, 12-2 in the opening round to net their first-ever tournament win. A 6-2 victory over #10 WPI saw the team advance to the Regional Championship game and it was another milestone on May 17 as the Corsairs posted an 8-2 win over the Engineers to capture their first-ever NCAA Regional Championship title and advance to the Super Regionals for the first time in program history.
The squad – who tied the all-time mark for wins in a season – was matched up against the University of Mount Union for the Super Regionals in Alliance, Ohio. The Raiders capitalized with two straight victories to conclude the Corsairs historic season.
UMass Dartmouth's staff saw their squad rank among the Little East's best in a number of categories, including first in team batting average (.346), at-bats (1,244), hits (430), doubles (87), runs batted in (248) and earned run average (2.41). Amongst the national leaders, UMass Dartmouth is currently first in the nation in double plays (34) and double plays per game (0.74), while ranking 17th in doubles, 19th in hits, and 30th in earned run average.
Individually, senior third baseman
RaeLynn Perregaux was named the 2026 Little East Player of the Year, earning NFCA All-Region II Third Team honors, along with Most Outstanding Player honors at both the NCAA WPI Regional and the Little East Tournament. She was also an NFCA Division III National Player of the Week during the 2026 season.
Perregaux, who achieved her 200th career hit during the Super Regionals at Mount Union, was one of five players named to the All-Little East Teams. She and sophomore pitcher
Edy Crawford were both All-LEC First Team selections, while rookie first baseman
Bre Fontes and senior second baseman
Emma Talpey were Second Team honorees. Additionally, both Fontes and rookie pitcher
Brielle Kenney were All-Rookie Team selections.
