Eastern Illinois University announced on May 5 that its softball team will enter the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Tournament as the number one seed after winning the 2026 OVC regular season championship. The Panthers finished the regular season with a record of 33-20 overall and 23-3 in conference play.
The achievement marks Eastern Illinois’ third consecutive OVC regular season championship and fifth overall. The team is only the second school in OVC history to win three or more consecutive titles, joining Southeast Missouri, which won five straight from 1995 to 1999.
This week’s tournament will be held at Louisville Slugger Complex in Peoria, Illinois, with Eastern Illinois making its 24th appearance in the event. The Panthers have reached the championship game each of the last three years and claimed tournament titles in both 2023 and 2025. This year is also their fifth time entering as the top seed.
The program is led by co-head coaches Kristi Paulson and Dan Paulson, who are in their second season at Eastern Illinois. In their first year, they guided the team to both regular season and tournament championships before advancing to an NCAA Regional. Prior to joining EIU, they coached at Parkland College where they won over 200 games and made multiple appearances at the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series.
Several players received individual recognition for recent performances. Lexie Griffin was named OVC Player of the Week after hitting .778 during a series sweep over Tennessee State. Lizzie Stiverson extended her hit streak to seven games while leading several offensive categories for EIU this season. Pitchers Karlie McKenzie and Bryanna French also posted notable statistics; McKenzie improved her conference record to 7-0 with a shutout performance, while French continued a scoreless inning streak now totaling more than fifteen innings.
As Eastern Illinois prepares for its opening round game on May 7 at Louisville Slugger Complex, it carries one of college softball’s longest active win streaks into postseason play.
