Virginia Tech Reaches Top 10, Florida State Falls in Softball America’s Rankings

The Hokies went 5-0 and moved into the Top 10 for the first time season.

Virginia Tech joins the Top 10 after a statement win over Penn State. | Virginia Tech Athletics

Conference play has begun, but not much has changed in Softball America’s Top 25 Rankings. Tennessee and Alabama remain undefeated, and Texas and Texas Tech swept in their first weekend of conference matchups.

Auburn and Utah enter the Top 25 after defeating Kentucky and Arizona State, while UCF makes a large jump after taking the series over OSU. 

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

The latest Top 25 rankings don't see much change at the top, but two new teams enter the rankings this week.

See the entire Top 25 presented by @Go_Rout here: https://t.co/NQ8hoI9wS9 pic.twitter.com/7RnY2tbB0E

— Softball America (@SoftbalAmerica) March 9, 2026

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)

Virginia Tech Hokies 

The Hokies enter the Top 10 after grabbing their second straight 5-0 weekend. The team shut out James Madison, took down Michigan, Penn State, and Radford, and capped off the perfect weekend with an 11-1 run-rule victory over Bryant on Sunday. 

ANOTHER 5-0 WEEKEND 😤#Hokies pic.twitter.com/ekQ3k9RMkS

— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) March 8, 2026

Emma Mazzarone hit her third homer of the season to take the lead against Bryant, and immediately after, Jordan Bishop ripped her first career home run and first collegiate hit.

All 10 Hokies with at least seven at-bats hit above .310 across the weekend, while eight Hokies are hitting above .300 and four are above .400 on the season. 

Tennessee Lady Vols 

The undefeated Lady Vols were quite tested by LSU this weekend, but were able to come out unscathed. 

Gabby Leach was the star on Sunday when she delivered a walk-off three-run homer to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning. She finished 2-for-3 at the plate and went 6-for-10 over the three-game series with four runs, three homers, and six RBIs. 

game 3 highlight tape 🎥 pic.twitter.com/G3ESTibb6h

— Tennessee Softball (@Vol_Softball) March 8, 2026

Erin Nuwer and Sage Mardjetko dominated the circle, while Karlyn Pickens still recovers from injury. 

Now with a 23-0 record, the 2026 team ties 2007 for the second-best start in program history. 

UCF Knights 

The Knights grabbed the program’s first-ever series win over Oklahoma State on Sunday after putting up four earned runs against Cowgirls’ ace Ruby Meylan. The Knights outscored the Cowgirls 11-7 throughout the weekend while outhitting OSU 32-12 in the series. 

KNIGHTS GET THE SERIES UPSET 👏@UCF_Softball takes down No. 12 Oklahoma State, 6-4, in game three to win the series!#NCAASoftball pic.twitter.com/kdWML0GJFB

— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) March 8, 2026

Izzy Mertes, Kendall Yarnell, and Coco Jaimes had three-hit games and found the scoreboard in each of the final four innings on the finale on Sunday, first in response to a two-run OSU third inning, before answering again with a two-run OSU sixth inning. 

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