INDIANAPOLIS, IND – West Chester University was ranked fifth in the first NCAA Atlantic Region ranking poll released on Monday.
The Division II Field Hockey Championship provides for an eight-team, single-elimination tournament. The Division II Field Hockey Committee will select the five teams from the Atlantic region (two automatic qualifiers, one each from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and South Atlantic Conference, plus three at-large teams) and three teams from the East region (two automatic qualifiers, one each from the East Coast Conference and Northeast-10 Conference, plus one at-large team).
The committee will seed and pair teams for the championship according to the geographic travel policy established by the NCAA Division II Championships Committee. The field hockey committee shall seed the top eight teams in the championship field. First-round games will be Saturday, Nov. 21, semifinals will be Thursday, Dec. 3 and the championship final will be Saturday, Dec. 5.
The five Atlantic Region teams will be selected using the NCAA Power Index (NPI), the system that houses the division's statistical data and objectively applies the selection criteria to the data based on the sport committee's established weighted criteria. NPI will determine the at-large teams selected to the championship after Automatic Qualifiers (AQ) have been designated.
NPI is a combination of the following: winning percentage; strength of schedule; home-away multiplier; quality win bonus; and overtime results (when applicable).
The next ranking will be published on October 26, followed by November 2. After November 2, rankings will be updated daily.
NPI Rankings (as of October 18, 2026)
- Kutztown
- East Stroudsburg
- Shippensburg
- Newberry
- West Chester
- Bloomsburg
- IUP
- Slippery Rock
West Chester (8-4) hosts top-ranked Kutztown (13-0) on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Vonnie Gros Field.
