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Oklahoma Sooners Fall, Alabama Crimson Tide Climbs in Softball America’s Top 25 Rankings

Alabama is surpassing any expectations set before the 2026 season.
Nicole Reitz|
Alabama Softball climbs the Top 25 rankings after a 13-0 start to the season.
Alabama Softball climbs the Top 25 rankings after a 13-0 start to the season. | Alabama Athletics

Another week means another shakeup in Softball America’s Top 25 rankings. 

Four days of play at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic and the DeMarini Invitational brought upsets, broken records, and injuries, making for incredible drama. 

The Top 10 remains the same, with one exception. Georgia dropped from No. 9 to No. 12, and UCLA moved up from No. 12 to No. 10. The Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida State Seminoles dropped a few spots as well. North Carolina and Grand Canyon University entered the Top 25 after undefeated starts to the season, while Arizona State, Washington, and UCF fell completely out of the Top 25. 

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

Softball America Top 10 Rankings

  1. Tennessee (Previous Rank: 1) 
  2. Texas Tech (Previous Rank: 2) 
  3. Texas (Previous Rank: 3) 
  4. Alabama (Previous Rank: 6) 
  5. Arkansas (Previous Rank: 7) 
  6. Florida (Previous Rank: 8) 
  7. Oklahoma (Previous Rank: 4) 
  8. Nebraska (Previous Rank: 10) 
  9. Florida State (Previous Rank: 5) 
  10. UCLA (Previous Rank: 12) 

Oklahoma Sooners 

The Sooners dropped in the rankings after losing their second game of the season, 6-4 to Long Beach State at the Mary Nutter. The 49ers put up four runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by a three-run home run, which killed OU’s momentum. It was OU's first loss to an unranked opponent at a neutral site since dropping to Wisconsin in 2020.

The Sooners did have the pleasure of run-ruling Duke and San Diego State, but they barely got by Cal State Fullerton in a tight 6-5 extra-inning duel. Gabbie Garcia capitalized on a two-out, 3-2 pitch and knocked an RBI off the left field wall to score Tia Milloy and walk off the game. 

 Alabama Crimson Tide 

Patrick Murphy’s squad went 5-0, with two wins over Florida State at the Dugout Club Classic to extend its undefeated streak. 

Friday was the highlight of the entire weekend, taking wins against Elon and FSU. In game one, pitcher Kaitlyn Pallozzi became the first freshman in program history to throw a perfect game. It marked the 10th perfect game in program history and first since Montana Fouts threw one against Ole Miss in 2023. 

The second game between the then-ranked No. 5 Seminoles and the No. 8 Crimson Tide saw a trio of home runs to give Alabama a 4-0 lead before they expanded with a four-run seventh inning to lead to the 8-0 shutout. 

UCLA Bruins 

The Bruins move into the Top 10 after displaying immense offensive power. 

UCLA made more program history in a 23-1 win over Auburn. The offense scored the fourth-most runs in a single game in program history, with the lineup producing 16 hits, nine of which were extra bases, and seven walks. 

Additionally, the 18-run third inning tied for second-most in a single frame in NCAA Division I softball history, and is the most by a team since 2021. Fourteen of those runs came with two outs, allowing Megan Grant, Jordan Woolery, and Kaniya Bragg to each step up to the plate three times. 

UCLA went on to oust three top-25 programs over the weekend with wins over then-ranked No.14 Texas A&M, No. 17 Duke, and No. 19 South Carolina. The 15-7 win over the Aggies lasted five innings and closed out the Bruins’ perfect 6-0 outing at the Mary Nutter. 

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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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