GRAPEVINE, Tex. – The storybook ending the Warriors dreamed about has come true. With two wins on Wednesday, Jessup is the 2025 NCCAA Softball National Champions, capping off a historic year in the university's history.
The championship is the 14th in university history, and the fifth NCCAA crown won by Jessup University in the spring of 2025.
Jessup needed two victories to secure a championship on Wednesday, and the first in their way was Fort Lauderdale. In their second meeting with the Eagles this week, Jessup turned up the offense as they pushed across a tournament-high ten runs in the win.
Maddy Ybarra was the hero of Jessup's 10-6 win as she went 4-for-4 with five RBI and four runs scored. No hit was bigger than a three-run home run in the fifth inning to give Jessup their four-run cushion.
Jessup blew the game open early with a 6-2 lead at the end of four innings, but the comfort quickly evaporated as Fort Lauderdale scored four in the fifth to tie the game. The Warriors responded with four of their own in the bottom half.
Bella MacFarlane made her third start of the week and again went the distance as she tossed seven innings in the win. MacFarlane allowed six runs (two earned) on seven hits. She finished the week having pitched 22 innings.
The win put Jessup in a spot where one more win would clinch the title. Their next foe would be Mid-America Christian, a team that needed to beat Jessup twice on Wednesday to leave as champions.
It was a pitcher's duel in the finale as freshman
Jazlyn Villavicencio kept MACU off the board through the first six innings.
The first runs of the game came in the fourth when
Sarah Giles launched her third home run of the tournament. The two-run shot was followed an inning later by a solo blast from
Kylie Nunes.
Nunes' shot was a needed one as MACU finally found the scoreboard in the seventh when they hit a two-run homer to make it 3-2. Villavicencio was not fazed by it as her final pitch resulted in a comebacker to the circle that turned into the final out and a celebration.
Head coach
Brie Campbell's Warriors are champions of the NCCAA, capping off the first Division II season in Jessup history.
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Jessup University is a provisional member of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division II and the PacWest Conference. For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Instagram & X).
