The NAIA women’s soccer regular season is over, conference tournaments are in win-or-go-home mode, and the road to the Red Banner in Decatur is taking shape, with the final Players of the Week named, six automatic bids already claimed, and the selection show set for November 13.

The final issue of the 2026 NAIA Women’s Soccer notebook looks ahead at where to tune in for the selection show, final site tickets, and more, as the Battle For The Red Banner gets underway in just over a week for 40 teams across the nation.

New automatic bids: Two more automatic bids into the national tournament were punched — Clarke (Iowa) from the Heart of America and Hastings (Neb.) from the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Both begin their respective conference tournaments as the No. 1 seed.

Final Players of the Week (PrestoSports-NAIA):

• Offensive Player of the Week: Sara Aguirre of William Carey (Miss.) — contributed to 11 goals across two home matches last week; junior forward from Villavicencio, Colombia; scored three goals and added four assists across the two contests.
• Defensive Player of the Week: Izzy Martinez of Brenau (Ga.) — recorded two shutouts last week, including one in a victory that secured Brenau’s place in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament; freshman goalkeeper from McDonough, Ga.

Automatic bids already claimed (by winning the conference regular season outright or via conference tiebreaker procedures, for conferences of 12 or more teams): Truett-McConnell (Ga.), College of Idaho, Clarke (Iowa), Oklahoma Wesleyan, Hastings (Neb.), and William Carey (Miss.). Other teams must win their conference tournament to earn an automatic bid.

Championship details:

• First and second rounds are under two weeks away; play for the final 16 teams in Decatur, Ala., is just under four weeks away.
• Final site: Jack Allen Sports Complex in Decatur, Ala.
• Selection show: Friday, November 13 at 5 p.m. CT on the NAIA’s YouTube page.
• All matches will be broadcast free on the NAIA Network from opening kick on November 30 through the championship game and awards ceremony on December 7.

Keiser (Fla.) leads the final STADIONIC-NAIA Women’s Soccer Selection Committee Top 25 Poll, with Grace (Ind.) No. 2 and Indiana Wesleyan No. 3.

Read Next

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• 65 Former ACC Players Head Into the 2026 NWSL Playoffs, the Most of Any Conference
• SEC Women’s Basketball Stays Perfect in Week 1 as Alabama Moves to 3-0 and Florida’s Kiyomi McMiller Drops 42

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