Junior College Softball: NJCAA Divisions, Scholarships and the Path to a Four-Year School | RosterWise™

The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) governs athletics at its member two-year colleges and runs softball in three divisions. This page covers the NJCAA’s softball rules for 2026-27 from its own Bylaws and Sport Codes. For how the junior-college route works in every sport, see NJCAA and Junior College Athletics Explained.

NJCAA softball in 2026-27

The NJCAA’s own 2026-27 softball roll, read October 29, 2026, lists 360 teams:

The roll places them in 24 regions. The NJCAA’s planning document for its 2028 postseason counts 140 Division I and 166 Division II softball teams without saying when it counted them, so we use the 2026-27 roll.

The division belongs to the sport. The NJCAA’s Bylaws say divisional play is designated by sport, not by school or athletic department. A college’s softball team can play in a different division from its other teams, so check the softball team’s own division.

What each division may pay

The division decides what a softball scholarship can cover (NJCAA Bylaws 2026-27, Article VI):

How many scholarships a team may give is listed on the NJCAA’s Sports Procedures Chart, which we have not been able to read. We don’t print a number. Ask each coach how many the team gives and what each one covers.

Letters of intent and visits

The NJCAA Letter of Intent. A recruit can sign one only after she has completed her junior year of high school, for the following year. The earliest signing date for each sport is on the Sports Procedures Chart.

Official visits. A recruit may take an official (paid) visit to an NJCAA college from June 1 before her junior year. A college may pay for one official visit per recruit per recruiting year, lasting no more than 48 hours, and may cover the recruit and two guests.

Two seasons

An NJCAA athlete may play a maximum of two seasons in a sport, at any intercollegiate level (varsity, JV or club), however long she attends college. Playing any part of an official NJCAA game during the year counts.

The 2027 NJCAA World Series, and what changes in 2028

From spring 2028, Divisions I and II each move to a 32-team postseason: eight four-team super regionals, then the World Series.

We haven’t printed Division II’s 2027 dates: the NJCAA’s Sport Codes give two that don’t agree, and we’ll add them once the NJCAA settles them.

Moving on to a four-year school

If your daughter is weighing a junior college first and a four-year school after, the rules for that move depend on the four-year school’s division and on her academic record. Start with our general guide, NJCAA and Junior College Athletics Explained, and the NCAA’s own Guide for Two-Year Transfers.

One softball rule to know: a softball player who transfers from a two-year college to an NCAA Division I school and enrolls after that school’s first term can’t compete until the next academic year (2026-27 Division I Manual, Bylaws 14.5.4.1.1 and 14.5.4.2.4). The NCAA’s two-year guide says the same: such a player “may not compete until the fall term.”

Two-year colleges outside the NJCAA

California’s community colleges play softball in the CCCAA (also called the 3C2A), and two-year colleges in the Northwest play in the NWAC. Both run their own softball championships, outside the NJCAA. They’re not in the counts on this page; ask a CCCAA or NWAC college about its own rules.

Questions to ask junior-college coaches

1. “Which NJCAA division is your softball team in?” It decides what a scholarship can cover.
2. “How many scholarships do you give, and what does each one cover?” The per-team number is on the NJCAA’s chart, not in its Bylaws.
3. “Where have your players gone after two years?” Ask for names you can look up on the four-year schools’ own rosters.
4. “What do I need academically to transfer to the level I’m aiming for?” The four-year school’s division sets the academic rules for the move.

This page reflects the NJCAA’s 2026-27 softball team roll, the NJCAA Handbook Bylaws and Sport Codes dated 9-9-26, the NCAA Guide for Two-Year Transfers (2025-26) and the 2026-27 NCAA Division I Manual, read October 29, 2026.