Re-ranking the 16 teams to make the NCAA Softball Tournament Super Regionals

USA Today

20-05-2025

Re-ranking the 16 teams to make the NCAA Softball Tournament Super Regionals
After the regional round has come and gone, the field is set for the super regionals, one of the best weekends in the college sports calendar. 16 teams will face off on campus sites across the country. Four teams knocked off host teams, highlighted by Liberty's upset of No. 1 Texas A&M.
It's a star-studded field with each of the National Player of the Year finalists, NiJaree Canady, Jordy Bahl, and Bri Ellis, leading their teams to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The field also includes winners of every Women's College World Series national title dating back to 2012. Additionally, every team that has made it to the final in the last five tournaments is still alive on super regional weekend.
With 16 teams still standing, here's how Sooners Wire ranks the field.
The Georgia Bulldogs earned an upset win, beating the host Duke twice to become regional champions. The Bulldogs are No. 88 in the nation in team batting average and No. 103 in team ERA. Despite the stats, they just get it done.
15. Liberty Flames
Liberty made history over the weekend, becoming the first team to knock off a No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament when they beat the Texas A&M Aggies. Liberty will have another tough matchup against Oregon, but when you beat No. 1, you get some love.
14. Oregon Ducks
Oregon might have won the regional but their pitching got lit up by Stanford. The Cardinal were one of the best hitting teams in the nation in 2025 and they took it to the Ducks. Next up, they'll take on a Liberty team that outscored the No. 1 overall seed. Oregon is top 10 in the nation in batting average and ERA.
13. Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels took two of three from the host Arizona Wildcats to emerge as regional champions. The Rebels received a huge performance from Aliyah Binford who had eight RBI over the weekend.
Alabama swept through the Tuscaloosa regional despite a couple of one-run games against the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Tide rank top 50 in the nation in both ERA and batting average. Can they repeat their performance from the regular season when they took two of three from the Sooners?
11. South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina allowed just two runs in the Columbia regional, outscoring their opponents 16-2. Sam Gress didn't allow a run over 8.2 innings pitched in South Carolina's final two games.
10. Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are No. 16 in the nation in team ERA and No. 26 in team batting average. They were tested in a 1-0 win over Northwestern in the regional semifinal, but had little trouble elsewhere to advance.
9. Texas Tech Red Raiders
If you have NiJaree Canady, you have a shot to go deep in the postseason. Canady is No. 2 in the nation in ERA and a finalist for national player of the year. Can the Red Raiders provide enough run support to make them a threat?
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers
Like Canady, Jordy Bahl gives the Cornhuskers a shot to make a deep run in the postseason. She was incredible in the regional round and has the experience in the NCAA Tournament to lead the Cornhuskers to Oklahoma City. Bahl is No. 5 in the nation in batting average, has 20 home runs and 20 wins on the season, and is No. 6 in the nation in ERA. She should be the national player of the year.
7. Florida State Seminoles
Florida State was pushed to an elimination game by the Auburn Tigers, but Ashton Danley and Jazzy Francik combined to shutout the Tigers in the decider to advance to a super regional matchup with Texas Tech.
6. UCLA Bruins
UCLA is in the top 10 in the nation in both batting average and ERA. They advanced through the Los Angeles regional with ease, outscoring opponents 31-2. Though just the nine seed in the tournament, the Bruins are a blue blood and deserve more respect.
5. Tennessee Volunteers
In any other season, Karlyn Pickens might be a finalist for Player of the Year, but that's just how good Canady and Bahl have been. But Pickens is every bit the pitcher, and Tennessee is good enough to go all the way. Just give her a bit of offense and watch her fire away.
4. Texas Longhorns
Texas is No. 2 in the nation in team batting average and No. 22 in the nation in team ERA. Is this the year the Longhorns win it all?
3. Florida Gators
Floria finished the regular season with a series win over Oklahoma. They built off that performance, mashing their way through the Gainesville regional, outscoring their opponents 30-6.
There wasn't a hotter team in the nation than the Arkansas Razorbacks, especially after they took a five-run lead over the Sooners in the SEC Tournament semifinals. Arkansas didn't let the letdown slow them down as Bri Ellis and the Razorbacks swept through the Fayetteville regional by outscoring their opponents 28-5 and the pitching staff threw two shutouts.
1. Oklahoma Sooners
Past performance has no bearing on future production, especially when Oklahoma turned over a huge part of the roster that won their fourth-straight national title last year. However, when you've won four straight titles and advanced to 15 consecutive super regional weekends, you get the benefit of the doubt until someone knocks you off. The queens stay the queens. They're relying on a young corps of players, but Gabbie Garcia and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas have proven up to the task in 2025.
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