As February came to a close, the 2026 women's college flag football season is underway in earnest. Teams from all over the country have started the season, with some schools set to join in the next week. We'll take a look at some of last week's results for each governing body (NCAA, NAIA, JUCOs, etc.). We'll end by looking at the games taking place in the first week of March. Click here to check out previous recaps for the 2026 spring season.

NCAA

The ECAC had its first full day of games on Saturday, February 28. Mount St. Mary's (MD) swept its tripleheader against Kean (NJ) 26-0, Mercy (NY) 54-0, and Penn State Schuylkill (PA) 19-7. Kean went 2-1 on the day, defeating Schuylkill (26-18) and Mercy (27-13). Schuylkill went 1-2 thanks to the 28-6 win over Mercy, while Mercy finished the day 0-3.

Texas Southern won the HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans by defeating Alabama State 6-0 in overtime. Texas Southern also defeated ASU, Delaware State, and Florida A&M in the round robin, followed by a 36-0 win over Delaware State in the semifinals.

• Aurora (IL) blanked UW-Oshkosh (WI) 34-0 in the inaugural game for both teams. Kaylin Morgan went 20 of 32 for 237 yardsand 4 touchdowns.
• Barton (NC) dropped a 120-0 win against Virginia Wesleyan to start the season. Quarterback Sawyer Rigdon threw for 552 yards and 15 touchdown passes, while all five receivers who caught a pass finished with at least 2 receiving touchdowns. Valerie-Ange Batta recorded 6 interceptions in the win.
• Emmanuel (GA) split its games against King (TN) and Lees-McRae (NC). The Lions lost 21-12 to LMC, but Gianna Brown had 15 catches for 141 yards and 2 TDs, while adding 7 flag pulls on defense. She recorded 6 grabs for 101 yards and 2 scores in the 57-0 win over King. Gwen Carter had 11 catches for 190 yards and 4 TDs against King, while Elzie Baker added 4 catches for 93 yards and 3 scores.
  • Despite losing 57-0, Alyssa Ramos recorded 11 catches for 120 yards and 11 flag pulls on defense. King did not play a second game due to Erskine's decision to delay its first season.
• Erskine (SC) will not compete during the 2026 spring season and will have its inaugural campaign in spring 2027. Erskine was slated to compete in the Conference Carolinas this year.
• Ferrum (VA) posted a pair of wins to start the year: 53-0 over Hollins (VA) and 39-19 over Lindsey Wilson (KY). QB Payson Shreeve finished the day with 593 yards and 12 TD passes. Jaden Hiers had 6 catches for 196 yards and 2 TDs plus an interception against Lindsey Wilson, while adding 2 catches for 71 yards and 2 TDs versus Hollins.
• Lees-McRae (NC) posted an 87-6 mid-week win over Chowan (NC). Makenzie Hicks threw for 308 yards, 5 TDs, and an interception in the win. Natalia Hernandez de Leon had an extremely efficient stat line with 5 catches for 106 yards and 4 TDs. Mackenzie Walker had 10 flag pulls and 3 interceptions, while Kennedy Vannoy recorded 10 flag pulls and 2 interceptions.
  • LMC also defeated Emmanuel (GA) 21-12 in a tougher contest. Hicks threw for 201 yards, 2 scores, and an INT. Hernandez de Leon had 5 catches for 97 yards and a TD, while Tami Chatwood recorded 7 catches for 72 yards and 1 TD.

NAIA Polls

The IFFA released its first poll of the regular season. As expected, there was little change at the top, but movement occurred following Hope International's (CA) upset of St. Thomas (FL). HIU jumped into the poll while Graceland University (IA) fell out of the poll after being ranked 14th in the preseason.

NAIA

Entering the week, there was one game circled across all of collegiate flag football: #1 Ottawa (KS) vs #2 Keiser (FL) on Thursday, February 26. This game did not disappoint and it was intense from the outset despite the heavy rain. Both teams scored touchdowns in the first quarter, with Keiser holding a 9-6 advantage. The Seahawks returned Ottawa's point after attempt for a score thanks to a series of laterals started by Ashlea Klam's interception.

The teams traded touchdowns again in the second quarter, with the score sitting at 15-12 in favor of Keiser. In the final minute, Keiser's Sophia Caprio ran a corner route to extend the lead to 22-12. On the other side of halftime, Klam caught her second touchdown pass, with nary a defender around to make it a 28-12 game.

Facing a two-touchdown deficit, the five-time defending NAIA champions rallied. The Braves scored immediately on the next drive, with Anna Anderson using her legs to score. Tatiana DosSantos caught the ensuing 2-point attempt to cut the deficit to 28-20. Ottawa forced a punt on the ensuing drive at the start of the fourth quarter and it was Anderson's scrambling abilities that led to a score. The two-point try failed, leaving Ottawa trailing 28-26.

Keiser had a chance to close the game out. The Seahawks were in Ottawa territory, but Jukanie Washington read the crossing route and stepped in front of the receiver to intercept the ball. Anderson's legs kept Ottawa's hopes alive and then she used her arm to end the drive by finding Olga Sotillo open in the end zone to complete the comeback. Ottawa won by a final score of 32-28 and the replay can be found on Redinhardt's YouTube channel.

For an early season contest, this was a high-quality game and a preview of what can be expected in the latter stages of the season. It was Ottawa's first game and a rematch of the previous two NAIA title games.

Ottawa would lose its next game to Florida Gateway (see the next section for a detailed recap), but the team also had a stern test against Wingate (NC). The Braves scored right before and after halftime to take a 13-0 lead. Wingate battled back to make it 13-12, while Ottawa added another touchdown to extend the lead to 20-12. Wingate rallied to score and tied the game with Addison Cadwell catching a tipped pass on the two-point try. Ottawa would survive in overtime, 26-20, but it was not an ideal start to the season.

• Meanwhile, Keiser responded to the late loss against Ottawa by blowing out Reinhardt (GA) 61-0 and Wingate (NC) 46-6. Across the two games, Ava Wallace threw 13 touchdowns, backup QB Adrienne Rivera threw 4, Ashlea Klam caught 4 TDs, Dakota Moberg accounted for 4 TD receptions, and Tremesha Harris had 3 TD catches.
• Baker (KS) started its season 4-0, with a conference win against Midland (NE) and 3 non-conference victories against GSAC opponents. Five different players have recorded double-digit flag pulls through 3 of the games. (At the time of posting, a box score wasn't available for the Benedictine Mesa game.)
• Kansas Wesleyan defeated North Central Missouri 41-13, with Chihiro Iwata throwing 6 touchdown passes. Iwata also threw 6 against Hesston (KS) last week.
• Lindsey Wilson (KY) posted a 97-0 win over Hollins (VA) to start the weekend. At the time, LWU started 3-0 and won by a combined 295-0. LWU also faced Ferrum (VA), but lost 39-19. Amaya Pablo struggled a bit passing, going 15 of 34 for 156 yards, 2 TDs, and 3 INTs. However, she made up for it with her feet, totaling 110 yards and a score on just 9 carries.
• Milligan (TN) posted a pair of wins. The Buffs defeated Mars Hill (NC) 66-0 and Huntingdon (AL) 39-19. Bridget Keyser threw for 584 yards and 12 touchdowns across the two games.
• Southwestern (KS) defeated William Woods (MO) 7-0 in a defensive battle. The lone score happened early in the second quarter when Kennedi Hayes completed a 2-yard TD pass to Brooke Reed. Hayes only had 68 yards passing, but added 69 yards on the ground. Anye Glasper had 7 flag pulls and 4 pass breakups for WWU in the loss.
• Top-10 Thomas (GA) suffered a surprising double OT loss against Life University (GA) in the Sun Conference opener. The Night Hawks were 4-0 entering the game and had defeated the Eagles convincingly in the three previous matchups.
  • Life tied the game late in the fourth quarter, while both teams traded touchdowns in the opening frame of overtime. In the second OT, Life scored on a shovel pass over the defensive rush. Thomas was unable to respond with its 2nd OT chance as the Life rush forced a quick pass on fourth down. The teams combined to throw 5 touchdown passes, but 6 interceptions.
  • Ameari Logan had 11 catches for 120 yards and a TD for Thomas, while Dechea Branham recorded 10 catches for 60 yards for Life. Thomas's Dyva Jones had 2 catches for 104 yards and a 66-yard TD. Life's Altierra Gooch caught 4 passes for 112 yards and 1 TD.
• Warner (FL) posted two 80+ point shutout wins this week. The Royals defeated Saint Leo (FL) 81-0 on Wednesday, followed by an 80-0 win over Brewton-Parker (GA) on Friday. Quarterback Kathryn Hutchinson had a total of 6 incompletions between the two games. She finished the week with 728 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, and no interceptions.
  • In the matchup against Saint Leo, 7 different players caught a pass, and 6 recorded a touchdown catch. Against Brewton-Parker, the Warner defense recorded 11 interceptions, including three apiece by Jessica Finley and O'Mariah Gordon.
• Webber International (FL) took care of business against Brewton-Parker (GA) with a 32-0 win. Rylee Bolser had a breakout game, catching 11 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.

JUCOs and Other Governing Bodies

While Ottawa made waves with its 32-28 win over Keiser, the Braves still had another challenge immediately afterwards: NJCAA champions Florida Gateway College. The Timberwolves won the first three NJCAA invitationals, including the 68-13 destruction of Daytona State (FL) in 2025. FGC is no slouch against NAIA teams, having defeated multiple NAIA opponents each year. Florida Gateway defeated Keiser 20-14 in 2024 and several NAIA and NCAA opponents in 2025.

Based on the 27-7 win over Ottawa, Florida Gateway is the best collegiate flag football team in the country right now. There's speed up and down the roster on both sides. The defensive pressure put on Anna Anderson and backup Olivia Cadiz forced hurried throws. The defenders did a great job of keeping the receivers in front of them or tracking down the Ottawa receivers when they were beaten. Florida Gateway had two interceptions in this game, including the pick-six to seal the 27-7 final score.

On offense, quarterback Martha Edwards showed off her arm and the speed on offense led to some "easy" completions. Expect to see Edwards competing at a high level for a four-year institution in the near future. A subtle, but effective method that FGC employed against Ottawa was a running start. Edwards would start running to a side before the ball was snapped to force the Ottawa defense to account for a possible run, but FGC didn't run this all the time. It's another wrinkle teams will have to account for this season.

Florida Gateway's win was the first time Ottawa lost to a non-NAIA school. Ottawa has only lost 9 games in program history as of March 1, 2026. FGC's 20-point win was the third worst for Ottawa, behind Webber International's 31-0 win in 2022 and Keiser's 33-6 win in 2024. This was the second game of the season for Ottawa, and it was played ~30 minutes after the exciting comeback win against Keiser, but it was a massive win for Florida Gateway.

It is still early in the season, and some teams haven't even taken the field yet, but Florida Gateway is the team to beat in the NJCAA. Unlike previous years, FGC will have a chance to showcase its talents against teams outside the NJCAA. The 2026 Women's College Flag Finals are set for May 6-9, and a 20-team championship bracket will determine the winner between NCAA, NJCAA, and non-NAIA Invitational teams.

• Irvine Valley (CA) posted a 37-26 win over NCAA Division I Grand Canyon's (AZ) club team. IVC is 5-0 to start the season.
• Saddleback (CA) took care of Claremont Colleges (CA) 48-0 to open the season 9-0. The Bobcats have posted 4 shutouts to start the season.

The Week Ahead

Teams from around the country will be headed to Tampa, Florida, for the IFFA Tournament. That's where a bulk of games will be played next weekend, but there's plenty of other action. On Monday, March 2, Florida Gateway plays at Point (GA). The next day, St. Thomas (FL) is slated to host Florida Memorial in a Sun Conference battle.

On Wednesday, March 4, the KCAC will see five conference games take place in Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. All games are scheduled to kick off at 7 PM ET/6 PM CT, which includes the home opener for Ottawa (KS). A GSAC contest between Benedictine Mesa (AZ) and Ottawa (AZ), 3C2A battles between Ventura (CA) and Irvine Valley (CA), and Norco (CA) and Moreno Valley (CA) are also slated for Wedensday.

On Friday, March 6, there's a tournament for mostly 3C2A schools hosted by MiraCosta (CA). Irvine Valley (CA) and Saddleback (CA) are scheduled to participate. The NCAA Division II CIAA will host its first tournament at Virginia Union University in Richmond on Friday, March 6, and Saturday, March 7.

On Saturday, March 7, another round of GSAC and KCAC games will take place, while the NCAA Division III Atlantic East Conference will get underway. The IFFA tournament will wrap up the same day. The Chicago Bears will host the Halas Hall Invite for Illinois schools on both Saturday, March 7, and Sunday, March 8.