Mississippi State Softball Enters 2026 as Unanimous Top 25 Team

The Bulldogs were ranked in each of the four major preseason college softball polls with the NFCA's rankings released on Tuesday.

Mississippi State Head Coach Samantha Ricketts, Mississippi State Infielder Nadia Barbary (#10), Mississippi State infielder Kylee Edwards (#67), Mississippi State Catcher/Infielder Riley Hull (#4), Mississippi State Infielder Morgan Stiles (#24) and Mississippi State Pitcher/Infielder Delainey Everett (#48) during the SEC Tournament second round game against LSU at Jack Turner Softball Stadium in Athens, GA. | Mississippi State Athletics

Coaches often say preseason polls don’t matter and they’re mostly right.

After all, it doesn’t matter if you start at No. 1 if at the end you’re not even ranked or playing in a championship tournament. Preseason polls do give fans and media alike a sense of who the best teams might be at the start of the season. Based on the preseason softball polls and rankings, Mississippi State deserves to be in that conversation.

The Bulldogs were ranked No. 22 in the NFCA top 25 rankings released on Tuesday, the final of the major rankings for college softball. They were also ranked No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Softball Collegiate Poll, No. 23 by D1Softball and No. 21 by Softball America.

The Bulldogs will open the season next month at the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas. State will face Baylor on Opening Day on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 6:30 p.m. Mississippi State's home opener is set for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10 against Southern Miss.

NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll

1. Texas
2. Texas Tech
3. Oklahoma
4. Tennessee
5. Oregon
6. Florida
7. UCLA
8. Florida State
9. Arkansas
10. Nebraska
11. Texas A&M
12. South Carolina
13. Clemson
14. Ole Miss
15. Alabama
16. LSU
17. Arizona
18. Stanford
19. Virginia Tech
20. Georgia
21. Liberty
22. Mississippi State
23. Duke
24. Oklahoma State
25. Ohio State

Others receiving votes: Virginia (24), Grand Canyon (23), Southeastern Louisiana (13), Florida Atlantic (7), Auburn (6), Michigan (6), Arizona State (1), North Florida (1).

ESPN/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll

T1. Texas
T1. Texas Tech
3. Oklahoma
4. Tennessee
5. Oregon
6. Florida
7. Florida State
8. Arkansas
9. Nebraska
10. UCLA
11. Texas A&M
12. Clemson
13. LSU
14. South Carolina
15. Georgia
16. Alabama
17. Stanford
18. Arizona
19. Duke
20. Oklahoma State
21. Virginia Tech
22. Ole Miss
23. Liberty
24. Mississippi State
25. Washington

Others receiving votes: Arizona State (27), Virginia (25), Ohio State (23), Grand Canyon (22), Florida Atlantic (19), Auburn (16), UCF (7), BYU (2), Michigan (2), Missouri (1), Northwestern (1)

D1Softball Preseason Top 25 Rankings

1. Texas
2. Texas Tech
3. Oklahoma
4. Tennessee
5. Florida
6. Oregon
7. Florida State
8. Arkansas
9. Nebraska
10. UCLA
11. Texas A&M
12. LSU
13. South Carolina
14. Alabama
15. Clemson
16. Duke
17. Georgia
18. Stanford
19. Oklahoma State
20. Virginia Tech
21. Arizona
22. Washington
23. Mississippi State
24. Ole Miss
25. Virginia

Softball America Preseason Top 25 Rankings

1. Texas Tech
2. Texas 
3. Oklahoma
4. Tennessee
5. Oregon
6. Florida State
7. Arkansas
8. UCLA|
9. Clemson
10. Florida
11. Nebraska
12. LSU
13. Alabama
14. Texas A&M
15. Georgia
16. South Carolina
17. Arizona
18. Stanford
19. Oklahoma State
20. Duke
21. Mississippi State
22. Washington
23. Virginia
24. Virginia Tech
25. Ole Miss