Softball On SI

Grand Canyon, Omaha, Belmont Top Softball America’s Mid-Major Rankings

Grand Canyon takes the top sport in the publication's first Top 25 of the season.
Nicole Reitz|
Marra Cramer hits a three-run homer for Omaha.
Marra Cramer hits a three-run homer for Omaha. | Omaha Athletics

Now three weeks into the college softball season, Softball America has released Top 25 power rankings for mid-major programs. 

This poll differs from Softball America’s regular Top 25 ranking, as this is more focused on which teams could give a regional host the most trouble come May.

Check out the Top 10 teams and visit Softball America for the full Top 25 ranking. 

Softball America Top 10 Mid-Major Rankings

  1. Grand Canyon (6-0) 
  2. Omaha (12-1) 
  3. Belmont (8-5) 
  4. Southeastern Louisiana (13-3) 
  5. Cal State Fullerton (6-9) 
  6. Texas State (9-6) 
  7. Florida Atlantic (12-5) 
  8. North Florida (14-5) 
  9. Charlotte (12-4) 
  10. Troy (12-2) 

Grand Canyon Lopes 

Despite losing star infielder Savannah Kirk, the Lopes are off to a phenomenal start. Not only do they top the Mid-Major Power Rankings, but they also entered the Top 25 Rankings at No. 23 on Monday. 

The four arms, Taryn Batterton, Oakley Vickers, Natalie Fritz, and Maggie Place, all have ERAs under 1.50. This weekend at the Purple Classic, the offense outscored opponents 48-7, with just six of the opponent runs coming in during one inning. 

GCU is currently one of five undefeated teams in the nation, along with Florida (19-0), North Carolina (14-0), Tennessee (14-0), and Alabama (13-0).

Omaha Mavericks 

Despite losing its first game of the season on Sunday to Troy, the Mavericks have been unstoppable.  The team finished 3-1 at the Troy Invitational.

Ace Maddia Groff, Alexis Wiggins, and Alyson Edwards combined for a perfect game in the 7-0 win over Kennesaw State. Groff faced 10 batters, Wiggins faced five, and Edwards pitched the final two innings.

It marked the sixth perfect game thrown by the Mavericks since 2000. Groff, in her second season with the Mavericks, has been a leading part in three of those games.

Belmont Bruins 

With ace Maya Johnson in the circle, the Bruins will go far. She’s already thrown a perfect game this season and taken down top-ranked Georgia. On Friday, she powered on to throw a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts to take down ranked Mississippi State. 

The Bruins are now 8-5 on the season. 

Southeastern Louisiana Lions 

The two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana Lions are on a roll to start the season. They took down top-10-ranked Oregon in the first week of play and are now on a nine-game winning streak after defeating Evansville and St. Louis this weekend. 

The Lions head to Austin on Wednesday to face the Texas Longhorns and Norman on March 1 to face Oklahoma, both of which could be huge tests for the team. 

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Nicole Reitz
NICOLE REITZ

Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.

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