OU Softball Coach Calls on NCAA to Replace RPI With DSR

The NCAA debuted the first set of RPI rankings on Monday.

Oklahoma softball associate head coach JT Gasso recently joined Softball America to discuss his thoughts on DSR vs. RPI. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The NCAA debuted the first set of RPI Rankings on Monday, and it has struck a chord with some of the game's biggest names.

Oklahoma associate head coach JT Gasso voiced his opinion about the RPI on social media and followed it up with Softball America during an interview on Monday.

"Right now, DSR, KPI, I love them because they give way more context," Gasso told Gray Roberton and Tara Henry on Good Morning Softball America. "And I'm out on RPI. Throw it away. We're good."

Let’s move on from RPI!
DSR is up for softball! https://t.co/MHTZfoLo4M

— JT Gasso (@jtgasso) March 4, 2026

The Rating Percentage Index (RPI) primarily focuses on win-loss records and strength of schedule, while the Diamond Sports Ranking (DSR) considers the specific circumstances of each matchup, such as the margin of victory and the game’s location, offering deeper insight into a team’s performance.

According to 6-4-3 Charts, here are the criteria and criticism of the RPI taken into account:

1. Teams dropping in the rankings simply for taking the field against a bad team in RPI.
2. The value of a win or loss in RPI changes based on what an opponent & the opponent’s opponents do weeks or months after the game is played.  
3. Double-digit victories, stopped before a game’s normal length, are treated the same as a single-run victory in RPI.
4. When comparing two teams, RPI doesn’t necessarily ensure the better team is ranked higher. 

When it comes to the DSR, here are the four components that it focuses on and the percentage it each carries:

1. Win Quality (31 percent)
2. Win Expectancy (30 percent)
3. Margin of Victory (11 percent)
4. Game Location (28 percent)

The Division I Softball Committee approved the DSR as a reference point in December 2025. This means that when it comes to determining the NCAA Tournament field, the committee will be able to use it to figure out which teams will be ranked 1-32.

Another formula that the comittee can consider is the Kevin Pauga Index. The KPI metric ranks team resumes by assigning a value to each game played. Meaning, the best win possible is worth about +1.0, the worst loss about -1.0, and a virtual tie at 0.0. 

Adjustments are made to each game's value based on the location of the game, opponent quality, and percentage of total points scored. Game values are added together and divided by games played to determine a team's KPI ranking. By ranking games, a team's schedule can be sorted from best win to worst loss, and a team's KPI can be broken out into categories (home games, conference games, etc.). All games (including those against non-Division I schools) are quantified, and each team begins each season at zero.

Gasso is thrilled with this because it means there is an objective, mathematical formula that can be used to determine who the best teams are, because history has shown how subjective the RPI is.

"You should get rewarded for those scores and how you're winning games and how you're performing in games," Gasso said. "In softball, we don't have rankings, objective rankings, or mathematical systems that take into account how you're winning games."

The specific examples Gasso used were the 2017 Minnesota and 2021 James Madison teams. The Gophers were ranked No. 1 in the coaches' polls but earned a 2-seed in the Tuscaloosa Regional. The Dukes were a 3-seed in the Knoxville Regional and then went on to beat No. 8 Missouri to clinch their first Women's College World Series berth in program history.

The Gophers lost in the Regional round, and the Dukes reached the semifinals after beating Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The Sooners did beat the Dukes twice in the semifinal round to reach the championship series.

"We know how good that 2017 Minnesota team was; we played them. They were legit. To point at RPI and say 'Well, they're not that,'" Gasso added. "Another one I can think of is James Madison 2021, Odicci's (Alexander) year. You look at their staff ERA, and their offense was dynamic, and their numbers were really good, and they were smoking teams... Everyone knew they were legit, but RPI might say they are one thing, and KPI is showing they're a lot better than what you may think they are because of how they're winning games, how they're doing things.

"I'm not saying more metrics, but I want more context into some of these rankings that are not subjective. I do think subjective rankings matter a little bit because we can look and see some of these teams that are doing what they're doing, and you know these teams are good. But, when you talk about mathematical rankings, you've got to have way more context into how we're ranking these teams."

Top 10 Softball RPI Rankings 

1. Tennessee (23-0)
2. Alabama (23-0)
3. Nebraska (18-5)
4. Texas (22-1)
5. Florida (25-1)
6. UCLA (21-3)
7. Arkansas (21-2)
8. LSU (17-7)
9. Mississippi State (24-2)
10. Virginia Tech (21-2)

Top 10 Softball Strength of Schedule

1. Nebraska (18-5)
2. LSU (17-7)
3. Georgia (19-7)
4. Stanford (14-6)
5. Missouri (7-15)
6. Tennessee (23-0)
7. BYU (5-17)
8. Georgia Tech (16-10)
9. Auburn (19-7)
10. South Carolina (15-9)

This was very exciting to put together with all of the data to add to the conversation, which includes RPI, KPI, and DSR this week. Additionally, we have team metrics profiles for all teams that received a vote in any of the human polls. Let me know anything that stands out? https://t.co/cN64CGStum

— Jason Rhea (@JasonRhea1) March 11, 2026

Softball America Top 10 Composite Rankings

These are independent of the publication's Top 25 and factor in RPI, KPI, and DSR. These are the Top 10 teams as of Tuesday.

1. Tennessee
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Texas Tech
5. Arkansas
6. Florida
7. Nebraska
8. UCLA
9. Oklahoma
10. Virginia Tech

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: 4) 
5. Arkansas (Previous Rank: 5) 
6. Oklahoma (Previous Rank: 6)
7. UCLA (Previous Rank: 7)
8. Florida (Previous Rank: 8) 
9. Nebraska (Previous Rank: 9)
10. Virginia Tech (Previous Rank: 11)

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