Softball America Announces Preseason Pitching Rankings

UCLA softball's Taylor Tinsley was named one of the top pitchers in the country by Softball America on Tuesday. | NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the college softball season approaches, Softball America released its first position rankings on Tuesday morning. Beginning with pitchers, the staff used advanced metrics from 64Analytics to determine where each ace is ranked, along with the eye test and strength of schedule. 

Check out these best pitchers heading into the 2026 season. For the full First-Team and Second-Team lists, visit Softball America. 

Top 10 First-Team Pitchers 

1. NiJaree Canady, Texas Tech 
2. Karlyn Pickens, Tennessee
3. Teagan Kavan, Texas
4. Taylor Tinsley, UCLA
5. Kenzie Brown, Arizona State 
6. Ruby Meylan, Oklahoma State
7. Lyndsey Grein, Oregon 
8. Robyn Herron, Arkansas
9. Maya Johnson, Belmont 
10. Jazzy Francik, Florida State 

NiJaree Canady, Texas Tech

The 2025 Softball America First-Team All-American is on track to defend the honor. After leading the Texas Tech Red Raiders to a historic season, she closed out her first year with the team with a 34-7 record, a 1.11 ERA, and 319 strikeouts. Canady finished the season tied for the most wins in program history, the second-best ERA in program history, and the second-most strikeouts in program history.

Karlyn Pickens, Tennessee  

Back for her senior season, Pickens is hot off a record-breaking 2025. She set the record for the fastest pitch thrown in softball history with a 79.4 mph pitch and led the SEC in ERA, games started, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, strikeouts, and opponent batting average. Her 25-11 record was paired with a 1.17 ERA, 306 strikeouts, and an allowed average of just 4.45 hits per seven innings. 

bring the heat ⛽@PickensKarlyn is Softball America's No. 3 overall player and No. 2 pitcher-only entering the 2026 season#LadyVols x @SoftbalAmerica pic.twitter.com/rXMmNZQGxn

— Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) January 12, 2026

Teagan Kavan, Texas

The reigning national champion was a Softball American Preseason Second Team All-American in 2025, but has jumped to First-Team due to her excellent postseason performance. She took the circle in 43 games and posted a team-best record of 28-5 with four saves. Across 207 innings pitched, she notched a team-best 2.16 ERA, 5-4 shutouts, and 230 strikeouts against 788 hitters. Kavan helped the Longhorns advance to the championship series of the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) and extended a streak of consecutive innings pitched without allowing an earned run (31.2), the longest in WCWS history by any Division I pitcher. 

Taylor Tinsley, UCLA

 Tinsley led the Bruins’ pitching staff in ERA for a second straight season in 2025 at 2.44. With an 18-1 record, 159 strikeouts across 137.2 innings, 24 starts, and 11 relief appearances, she ranked second in the Big Ten in WHIP (0.95). In the NCAA Tournament, she holds a 6-2 record, a 2.01 ERA, 12 appearances, and four complete games. 

Four Bruins in the Top 💯

7. Jordan Woolery
9. Megan Grant
11. Taylor Tinsley
77. Rylee Slimp#GoBruins | @SoftbalAmerica 🥎 https://t.co/h9gUv2g348

— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) January 12, 2026

Kenzie Brown, Arizona State

In 2025, Brown was credited with a team-high 19 wins across 35 appearances. She struck out 289 of 714 batters faced, landing her fourth in DI softball and second in the Big 12 Conference. Her 11.60 strikeouts per seven innings ranked second in the nation and first in the conference. Brown also ranked in the top five in the Big 12 for innings pitched (174.1), saves (4), shutouts (4), strikeouts (289), strikeouts per seven innings (11.6), victories (19), and WHIP (0.98)

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