The Summit League softball tournament is the conference softball championship of the NCAA Division I's Summit League. The top six finishers in the regular season of the conference's eight teams advance to the modified double-elimination tournament. In 2027 the tournament will be held at Connie Claussen Field in Omaha, Nebraska on the campus of the University of Nebraska–Omaha for the first time. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I softball championship.
The league changed its name from the Mid-Continent Conference prior to the 2008 season. North Dakota State has won the most championships with 10. South Dakota (1) is the most recent champion.
Champions
By year The following is a list of conference champions and sites listed by year. Year Program Site Most Valuable Player 1993 Western Illinois Macomb, IL Veronica Wilson, Western Illinois 1994 Illinois-Chicago DeKalb, IL Missy Porzel, Eastern Illinois 1995 DePaul Cacciatore Stadium • Chicago, IL Missy Nowak, DePaul 1996 Troy Macomb, IL Shawn Starling, Troy 1997 DePaul Cacciatore Stadium • Chicago, IL Erin Hickey, DePaul 1998 DePaul Macomb, IL Liza Brown, DePaul 1999 DePaul Cacciatore Stadium • Chicago, IL Nicole Terpstra, DePaul 2000 Western Illinois Mary Ellen McKee Stadium • Macomb, IL Holly Killion, Western Illinois 2001 Western Illinois Mary Ellen McKee Stadium • Macomb, IL Bridget Maxwell, Western Illinois 2002 Oakland Independence, MO Ericka Burns, Oakland 2003 Oakland Mary Ellen McKee Stadium • Macomb, IL Ericka Burns, Oakland 2004 Centenary Mary Ellen McKee Stadium • Macomb, IL Cheyenne Daries, Centenary 2005 Centenary Independence, MO Lindsey Jones, Centenary 2006 Southern Utah Kathryn Berg Field • Cedar City, UT Tiffany Burt, Southern Utah 2007 Southern Utah Shreveport, LA Bobbi Jo Merrill, Southern Utah 2008 Western Illinois Kathryn Berg Field • Cedar City, UT Nikki Marinec, Western IllinoisSamantha Valentine, Western Illinois 2009 North Dakota State Mary Ellen McKee Stadium • Macomb, IL Andi Padilla, North Dakota State 2010 North Dakota State Ellig Sports Complex • Fargo, ND Whitney Johnson, North Dakota State 2011 North Dakota State Mary Ellen McKee Stadium • Macomb, IL Whitney Johnson, North Dakota State 2012 North Dakota State Missouri 3&2 Field • Kansas City, MO Brea Konz, North Dakota State 2013 Purdue Fort Wayne Ellig Sports Complex • Fargo, ND Ashleigh Bousquet, Purdue Fort Wayne 2014 North Dakota State Ellig Sports Complex • Fargo, ND Krista Menke, North Dakota State 2015 North Dakota State Ellig Sports Complex • Fargo, ND Krista Menke, North Dakota State 2016 North Dakota State Ellig Sports Complex • Fargo, ND Kaitlyn Leddy, North Dakota State 2017 North Dakota State Ellig Sports Complex • Fargo, ND Bre Beatty, North Dakota State 2018 North Dakota State Ellig Sports Complex • Fargo, ND Jacquelyn Sertic, North Dakota State 2019 North Dakota State Tharaldson Park • Fargo, ND Paige Vargas, North Dakota State 2020 Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic 2021 South Dakota State Tharaldson Park • Fargo, ND Jocelyn Carrillo, South Dakota State 2022 South Dakota State Jackrabbit Softball Stadium • Brookings, SDNygaard Field • Vermillion, SD Tori Kniesche, South Dakota State 2023 Omaha Jackrabbit Softball Stadium • Brookings, SD Kamryn Meyer, Omaha 2024 Omaha Jackrabbit Softball Stadium • Brookings, SD Kamryn Meyer, Omaha 2025 Omaha Jerald T. Moriarty Field • Brookings, SD Katherine Johnson, Omaha 2026 South Dakota Jane Sage Cowles Stadium • Minneapolis, MN Madison Evans, South Dakota 2027 Connie Claussen Field • Omaha, NE
By school The following is a list of tournament performance listed by school. School W L PCT Finals Championships Title Years Centenary 6 8 2 2 2004, 2005 DePaul 20 8 5 4 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 Illinois–Chicago 7 3 1 1 1994 Kansas City 13 23 3 0 — North Dakota 2 8 0 0 — North Dakota State 40 14 11 10 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012,2014, 2015, 2016, 2017,2018, 2019 Oakland 12 7 3 2 2002, 2003 Omaha 21 13 6 3 2023, 2024, 2025 Purdue Fort Wayne 13 16 4 1 2013 St. Thomas 0 2 0 0 — South Dakota 20 23 4 1 2026 South Dakota State 18 21 5 2 2021, 2022 Southern Utah 16 22 4 2 2006, 2007 Troy 4 3 1 1 1996 Western Illinois 38 38 12 4 1993, 2000, 2001, 2008 As of May 9, 2026 Italics indicate that the program is no longer a member of The Summit League.
References