KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Sixth-year Ottawa (Kan.) head coach Liz Sowers is the 2026 NAIA Women's Flag Football Coach of the Year after leading the Braves to a 17-3 overall record and a sixth-consecutive regular-season championship in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. 

The Braves also won a sixth-straight KCAC tournament title, as Sowers became the first NAIA Women's Flag Football Coach to cross the 100-win barrier, posting a 105-11 record in six seasons at the helm of Ottawa's women's flag football program. 

Ottawa saw its season come to a close in the semifinal round of the 2026 NAIA Women's Flag Football Invitational, ending a run of five NAIA Red Banners. 

Although 2026 was the Inaugural Women's Flag Football Invitational in the NAIA, Ottawa did claim the first five postseason titles among programs in the Association, winning the Flag Finals in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. 

Sowers also oversaw the first undefeated season in NAIA Women's Flag Football history, a 23-0 mark in 2025. In six seasons, Sowers' teams compiled a conference mark of 53-1 in the KCAC.