The 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament field and bracket were released Monday morning and the Foresters will travel to St. Louis, Missouri, for a four-team regional tournament, which begins on Thursday.

The Foresters hosted and won the 2025 Midwest Conference Tournament over the weekend to qualify for the NCAA postseason for the 11th time in program history but first since 2019. They defeated Grinnell College 10-2 in five innings and Illinois College 4-3 on Friday before coming out on top 8-5 against Grinnell in the championship round on Saturday. Lake Forest is 28-14-1 overall this spring and posted a 14-2 record in the MWC to capture the the program's eighth conference title in the last 12 years and 14th in team history.

The University of Redlands, the Foresters opening round opponent on Thursday, is 34-9 on the season. The Bulldogs won 18 of 21 league games to capture the regular season crown in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after dropping two of three games in the SCIAC Tournament. They are making their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and the 14th in program history.

The host of the regional tournament is Washington University in St. Louis, champions of the United Athletic Association with a 17-1 league record. The Bears are 32-5 overall and making their 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last 24 years.

Wartburg College will take on the hosts in the first round. The Knights received an at-large bid to the tournament after going 24-15 overall and 11-5 in the American Rivers Conference. They have now advanced to the NCAA Tournamant in four consecutive seasons and 13 overall.

The regional tournament will be played over three days at WashU Softball Field and the winner will advance to the NCAA Super Regionals May 22-23.