2025 ICCAC Spring Preview | Softball
The 2025 ICCAC Softball season is nearly about to start competition and the expectations are for another exciting season. In 2024 three ICCAC teams reached the World Series with Kirkwood finishing as the national runner up in Division II.
In Division I there are five teams competing, Indian Hills, Iowa Western, Marshalltown, Southeastern and Southwestern. It was the Reivers that prevailed last season in the conference, ending an eight-year streak by Indian Hills.
Iowa Western lost only three conference games in 2024 and swept the Region 11 Championship to go on and win the district title to make their first World Series since 2013. The Reivers are projected in the coaches poll to win the conference again.
Indian Hills and Southeastern are near equal this season, as they are tied for second in the preseason poll. Last season the Warriors made it to the Region 11 Championship after ending the Blackhawks year in three competitive games in the opening round of the Region 11 Tournament.
Rounding out the Division I teams are Southwestern and Marshalltown. Both teams will aim to be much more competitive this season with both eyeing a chance to make the Region 11 Tournament at the end of the season -- one will be left out.
Division II features eight teams for one last season before Central (Neb.) and Northeast Iowa join the bunch. Of which, Kirkwood and DMACC are once again seen as the perennial favorites. Kirkwood has qualified for the National Tournament in each of the last nine seasons while DMACC has qualified each of the last ten years.
At the World Series last year, Kirkwood was powered their way to the National Championship game before meeting their end, losing two games to St. Johns River State (Fla.) -- they came in second for the second time in school history (1983).
DMACC ended their year at the World Series in the elimination rounds after very competitive games.
NIACC and Iowa Central each finished runners-up in the two Region 11 Tournaments and will be the teams on the outside looking to upset the hegemony that DMACC and Kirkwood have cultivated. Iowa Central has continued to inch closer to getting over the hump and hopes 2025 is their year.
Ellsworth and Iowa Lakes were the five and six seeded teams last season and have been predicted to finish in those same spots during the 2025 season. The Lakers had a down year and will look to rebound, while the Panthers are hoping to make more noise after improving greatly last year.
To round out the Division II teams Northeast and Hawkeye are predicted by the coach poll to finish seventh and eighth, respectively. Although both Northeast and Hawkeye made some noise last year as they both upset higher seeds in the elimination rounds of the Region 11 Tournaments.
DMACC and Kirkwood will likely battle it out at the top this season, but there are multiple teams sitting right below them that will look to upset the two team dominance in the 2025 season.
Division I:
ICCAC Division I Softball Preview
Division II: