MaxPreps Names Best High School Softball Teams to Watch in 2026

Here's a spotlight of five of the country's best high school teams heading into the 2026 season.

Melissa High School broke the high school softball national record for home runs in a season. | Melissa High School

The 2026 spring high school softball season is on its way, and MaxPreps has announced who the best teams are in each state. 

College softball’s top recruits like UCLA commit Coral Williams from Norco High School in California, Florida commit Caroline Stanton from Buford High School in Georgia, andSouth Carolina commit Aspen Boulware from Gray Collegiate Academy, all put their teams on the radar for 2026. 

Here’s a glimpse at a few teams that fans should be taking note of this season, all of whom are looking to repeat state titles. 

Melissa High School-Texas 

The MaxPreps No.1 team in the nation broke the high school softball national record for home runs in a season with an astonishing 122. The Cardinals put up a 38-1 record to win the Conference 5A Division 1 state title. 

Arizona commit Eloisa Maes will continue to lead the way in the circle. Last season, the junior went 31-1 and went 13-straight games without allowing an earned run. At the plate, Oklahoma commit Finlee Williams, Florida commit Kennedy Bradley, and Arkansas commit Hutton Adrian all combined to hit 56 of the record-breaking homers, while also contributing 51 doubles. Texas commit Caigan Crabtree was right behind with 20 homers of her own. 

Orange Beach High School- Alabama 

Can the five-time defending state champions go for a sixth title in 2026? Luckily for the Makos, they return five of their best hitters, including Arkansas commits Ava Hodo, who hit 15 home runs with a .571 batting average, and Katie King, who was named the MaxPreps Alabama Player of the Year. 

Orange Beach lost its ace K.G. Favors to graduation, but sophomore M.K. McMullan is ready to take over as the star. In her rookie season, she went 16-1 with an ERA of 0.77.

Sherwood High School- Oregon 

Offensive leader and Montana commit, Maisy Schindler, returns after leading the Bowmen to a 6A state championship when she launched two homers. Two-way Presley Sarono-Ramos returns as well, who hit .422 and collected an ERA of 1.10 and 117 strikeouts across 101.2 innings pitched in her freshman season. 

Crown Point High School- Indiana 

For the first time since 2017, the Bulldogs earned a state championship. Marian commit Lexi Smith’s go-ahead run was backed by a superb performance in the circle by Miami (Ohio) commit Paige Liezert, who threw a nine-inning shutout with 16 strikeouts in the 2-0 win over Center Grove. The ace is back for her senior season, alongside DePaul commit Ashlyn Kita, who hit .505, and Providence commit Scarlette Tegtman.

The Crown Point Bulldogs are 2025 Class 4A Softball State Champions! This is their second softball state title in school history (2017)! 🥎🏆@CPHSSports pic.twitter.com/UJ23lvzjuO

— IHSAA (@IHSAA1) June 14, 2025

Union Academy- North Carolina 

Home run leader and Auburn commit Taylor Surratt returns after leading the Cardinals to a 1A state championship. Coastal Carolina commit Avery Wilson will take on her senior season in the circle after winning 25 games in 2025. 

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