North Coast Section Top 10 softball preseason high school rankings (2/14/2025)

Amador Valley, Casa Grande and Cardinal Newman are among the defending section champions

Amador Valley's softball team celebrates winning the 2024 NorCal Division I championship. / Photo: Chris Jackson/West Coast Preps

As basketball league seasons wind down and the playoffs inch even closer, the start of the high school softball season is now upon us.

Around the North Coast Section, it would be hard to top the 2024 season as there were some extremely memorable moments that made for an unforgettable spring.

Let's take a look at the top 10 NCS programs heading into the spring of 2025. Defending champions: Amador Valley (Division I), Casa Grande (Division II) and Cardinal Newman (Division III), St. Helena (Division IV), Berean Christian (Division V) and South Fork (Division VI).

NCS PRESEASON 2025 SOFTBALL RANKINGS

1. Amador Valley

Finished 19-11 last season, but got hot just in time for the playoffs, winning both the NCS Division I championship by beating College Park 3-2, and winning the NorCal Division I title with a wild 13-11 triumph at Oak Ridge. It's most memorable win was defeating then national No. 1 and undefeated Saint Francis 4-1, in a first-round NorCal game. The Dons have its core of pitcher Kaylee Davis and McKenna Charbonneau returning and could be a force once again.

2. Casa Grande

Finished 23-3 last spring, winning the NCS Division II championship after beating Livermore 2-0. Lost in its first round NorCal game, falling 1-0 to Clovis North. Despite losing some key contributors, such as slugger Marissa Brody and outfielder Kyra Jensen, a large number of important pieces are slated to be back, primarily star pitcher Lila Partridge.

3. Livermore

Went 24-6 last season and won the East Bay Athletic League tournament, but came up just short of an NCS Division II title, losing 2-0 to Casa Grande in the championship game. Will retain a large portion of its team from last year, such as INF Laine Macosky, UTIL Sophia Gerochi and 1B Payten Williams, among others.

4. California

Finished 18-9 last season, falling to Livermore in the EBAL championship by a score of 6-5. In the NCS playoffs, the Grizzlies won their first two matchups before its season ended with a 6-1 loss to Amador Valley in the semifinals. Many key players will return such as INF Jayda Crosby, OF/2B Hailey King and slugging INF Amanda Dilsaver, among a few others.

5. Liberty

Finishing 20-4 last spring, the Lions featured a young team that won won the Bay Valley League tournament before making it all the way to the NCS Division I semifinals, losing 7-3 to College Park. Only graduating four seniors after 2024, the Lions will get back almost all of their promising prospects, most notably pitcher Kate Skinner, P/INF Kaitlyn Macias and catcher Madison Tuttle, among many others.

6. Alameda

Finished 20-4 last spring, making it the NCS Division II semifinals before seeing its season end with a 3-1 loss to Casa Grande. Key players like pitcher/INF/UTIL Jasmine Whorley and P/OF Katy Lambert are gone, but the Hornets have a lot of players still returning.

7. Benicia

Went 23-2 last season, with one of its losses being in the NCS Division II semifinals, where its season came to an end with a 6-3 loss to Livermore. Will lose players such as Kyra Mason and Suae Beatty, among a couple others but will get players such as Emma French and Sinead Maas back.

8. College Park

Finished 15-10 last spring and made it all the way to the NCS Division I finals, losing 3-2 to Amador Valley. Earning a spot in NorCals, the Falcons came up just short of a championship game appearance, losing 3-2 to Sutter in the regional semifinals after getting a bye in the first round. A lot of players graduated, such as catcher Jessica Delatorre, SS/1B Ava Davis and INF Abby Wood, but the return of promising prospects such as P/3B Savannah Wilson and Maya Davis could keep the Falcons as contenders.

9. Vintage

Finished 17-6-1 before seeing its season end in the quarterfinal round of the NCS Division I playoffs, losing 8-3 to Liberty. Key players from last year that have left include Devin Viruet, Mia Griffith, Dessiana Garcia, Brianna Allen and Taylor Lauritsen but will retain the talents of players such as Angie Rubalcava and Malina Viruet, among others.

10. Cardinal Newman

Went 24-6 last spring, winning the NCS Division III title with a 7-0 win over San Rafael in the championship game. Saw its season end in the first round of the Division III NorCal playoffs, losing 3-2 to Capuchino in eight innings. Lost only two seniors in OF Ava Walters and catcher Christell McCormick.