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USA Today
5 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Top 10 college softball recruiting classes for 2025
Top 10 college softball recruiting classes for 2025 The Women's College World Series comes down to Texas and Texas Tech in the championship series. It's been a dramatic and intense WCWS, with just one game ending with a margin of victory greater than three runs. As players begin to enter the portal, programs across the country will start to retool their rosters with the hopes of making the eight-team field in Oklahoma City in 2026. Programs will welcome high school stars for fall ball in preparation for the 2026 season. The SEC title race was heated down the stretch, with a number of teams contending for the regular season title in 2025. Based on how the conference is recruiting, the conference title will be hotly contested again in 2026. Over at Softball America and On3, seven of the top 10 teams in their team recruiting rankings for the 2025 cycle come from the SEC. Three teams just missed out on the top 10. Here's a look at the top 10 signing classes for 2025 according to Softball America and On3. Just missed the top 10: Oklahoma State, Missouri, Clemson, Utah, LSU, South Carolina. No. of Signees: 3 Blue Chip Prospects: 3 Top Rated Player: Ava Ratliff, C - No. 19 overall Chris and Kate Malveaux put together a nice signing class, adding two top-50 players in Ratliff and the No. 34 player in the nation, Delaney Aumua. They're hoping to build off of a strong performance in the Tallahassee regional, where they made the finals and pushed Florida State to a winner-takes-all game. No. of Signees: 4 Blue Chip Prospects: 4 Top Rated Player: Brooke Smith, INF - No. 26 overall Tony Baldwin signed four players in the 2025 recruiting class, three of which ranked inside the top 50. In addition to a pair of top 15 infielders, Baldwin added the No. 12 pitcher in the cycle, Ada Little from Georgetown, Kentucky. 8. Stanford Cardinal No. of Signees: 3 Blue Chip Prospects: 3 Top Rated Player: Adriana, Callahan, OF - No. 29 overall It's a light class for the Cardinal, but all three of their signees rank inside the top 50 according to Softball America and On3. Stanford head coach Jessica Allister earned signatures from players top 10 players from the state of Tennessee, Texas, and California. No. of Signees: 5 Blue Chip Prospects: 5 Top Rated Player: Victoria Moten, P - No. 9 overall The Crimson Tide signed four top-50 players and two top-10 pitchers in Moten and Kaitlyn Pallozzi. 6. UCLA Bruins No. of Signees: 3 Blue Chip Prospects: 3 Top Rated Player: Jolyna Lamar, INF - No. 10 overall It's a small class for the Bruins, but they have two top-15 players signed, including two of the top three players in the state of Califonia. 5. Texas Longhorns No. of Signees: 7 Blue Chip Prospects: 7 Top Rated Player: Alisa Sneed, OF - No. 22 overall Texas signed seven top-65 players in the cycle but none that ranked inside the top 20 of Softball America and On3's recruiting rankings. 4. Arkansas Razorbacks No. of Signees: 4 Blue Chip Prospects: 4 Top Rated Player: Saylor Timmerman, P - No. 8 overall Even before Bri Ellis put together her National Player of the Year season, the Arkansas Razorbacks and Courtney Deifel signed a strong class for 2025. They'll add four top-40 players, including Timmerman, who's the No. 3 pitcher in the class. No. of Signees: 5 Blue Chip Prospects: 5 Top Rated Player: Hayley Griggs, INF - No. 6 overall The Florida State Seminoles didn't have the run to the Women's College World Series that they're accustomed to, but they got a bad draw having to face NiJaree Canady and Texas Tech. But Lonni Alameda is reloading with a strong signing class in 2025. 2. Tennessee Volunteers No. of Signees: 5 Blue Chip Prospects: 5 Top Rated Player: Peyton Hardenburger, P - No. 4 overall Tennessee made a deep run in the Women's College World Series on the arm of star pitcher Karlyn Pickens, and they'll add one of the nation's top pitchers along with four top 25 talents in the class. 1. Oklahoma Sooners No. of Signees: 5 Blue Chip Prospects: 5 Top Rated Player: Kai Minor, OF - No. 1 overall The Oklahoma Sooners have four five-star players committed in the class led by the No. 1 overall player, Kai Minor, and the No. 1 overall pitcher, Alyssa Parker. It's a class that doesn't even include Sophia Bordi, who reclassified to join the Sooners in 2025. The Sooners were young this season, but still reached the semifinals of the Women's College World Series. They're about to get another influx of talent to an already-loaded roster. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
USA Today
21-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Two Lady Vols earn First-Team All-America honors
Two Lady Vols earn First-Team All-America honors Tennessee softball players Karlyn Pickens and Taylor Pannell, have been named First-Team All-America by Softball America. Pickens was also recognized as the organization's 2025 National Pitcher of the Year. A two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year, Pickens (22-8), leads the nation with a 0.90 ERA. She has recorded 252 strikeouts. Pickens, a five-time All-America performer, has appeared in 37 games, including 27 starts. She has pitched 186.1 innings and recorded 20 complete games and six shutouts. Pannell, a redshirt sophomore, has a career-best .399 batting average in 2025, while totaling 15 home runs, 62 RBIs. She has recorded 65 hits, including 11 doubles, two triples and nine stolen bases. Pannell, a Milan, Illinois native and two-time First-Team All-SEC performer, has posted a .502 on-base percentage and a .767 slugging percentage. She was also named to the NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Team, receiving first-team honors. Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
USA Today
06-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Clemson Tigers' ranking in final regular season Top 25 college softball polls revealed
Clemson Tigers' ranking in final regular season Top 25 college softball polls revealed The Clemson Tigers' opponent for the start of the 2025 ACC Softball Championship will be one of two teams. Coach John Rittman's Tigers (41-12 overall, 19-5 ACC) will be the No. 2 seed at the tournament and will face the winner of the No. 7 vs. 10 seed game between the Virginia Cavaliers and Louisville Cardinals on Thursday at the Harrington Athletics Village in Brighton, Massachusetts. The game is tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. The 2025 ACC Softball Championship will be televised on ACC Network, with Saturday's championship game on ESPN. 2025 ACC Softball Championship bracket set: Full dates, times While Clemson's regular season ended on April 27 with a three-game sweep of Georgia Tech, many other teams didn't wrap up regular-season play until this past weekend. That led to the Tigers' ranking in this week's top 25 softball polls being reshuffled a bit. Clemson stayed at No. 15 in the new NFCA Coaches Poll. Over at Softball America, the Tigers rose one spot to No. 10. D1 Softball dropped Clemson two spots to No. 14. Texas A&M overtook Oklahoma for the top spot in the Coaches Poll and in D1 Softball's rankings, while Softball America moved the Arkansas Razorbacks to No. 1 in its top 25. Here's a full look at the new NFCA Coaches Poll. Week 13 NFCA Softball Coaches Poll Rank Team Record 1 Texas A&M 43-9 2 Oklahoma 43-7 3 Texas 45-9 4 Oregon 47-6 5 Tennessee 40-13 6 Florida State 44-8 T-7 Arkansas 38-11 T-7 Florida 43-13 9 UCLA 47-9 10 LSU 40-13 11 Texas Tech 39-11 12 Arizona 43-10 13 Virginia Tech 40-10 14 South Carolina 39-14 15 Clemson 41-12 16 Stanford 39-10 17 Mississippi State 35-15 18 Ole Miss 35-16 19 Nebraska 38-12 20 Alabama 36-20 21 Duke 37-15 22 Ohio State 43-11-1 23 Oklahoma State 33-17 24 Grand Canyon 43-6 25 Virginia 36-16 Others receiving votes: Florida Atlantic (22), Georgia (7), Liberty (4), UCF (1) Dropped out: None Contact us @Clemson_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions.
USA Today
28-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Oklahoma Sooners take top spot in Softball America's top 25
The Oklahoma Sooners are turning it on at the right time. They've won six in a row and are coming off a sweep of the Texas Longhorns. During their six game winning streak, the Sooners are averaging seven runs a game in beating Mississippi State and Texas. After the sweep of their Red River Rivals, the Sooners are back in the top spot of the Softball America Top 25 on Monday. Arkansas comes in at No. 2 after their series win over Texas A&M. The Tennessee Volunteers fell from No. 1 to No. 3 despite taking two of three from Ole Miss over the weekend. Oregon comes in at No. 4 and Florida State at No. 5. The Aggies dropped from No. 2 to No. 6 while the Longhorns dropped four spots to No. 7. Florida is the only other SEC team in the top 10 entering the final weekend of the regular season. The Sooners control their own destiny ahead of a big weekend in Gainesville, Florida. A series win will clinch their first SEC regular season title. They're hoping to hold off the Aggies, who are two games back in the win column, and the Volunteers, who are also two games back but hold the regular season tiebreaker. Texas A&M and Tennessee face each other in Knoxville to finish the regular season. With just one week to go, here's a look at the latest Softball America Top 25. Rank Team Record 1 Oklahoma Sooners 42-5 2 Arkansas Razorbacks 36-10 3 Tennessee Volunteers 39-11 4 Oregon Ducks 44-5 5 Florida State Seminoles 42-7 6 Texas A&M Aggies 41-8 7 Texas Longhorns 42-9 8 Florida Gators 41-11 9 UCLA Bruins 44-7 10 Texas Tech Red Raiders 39-11 11 Clemson Tigers 41-12 12 LSU Tigers 38-11 13 Alabama Crimson Tide 35-18 14 South Carolina Gamecocks 36-13 15 Arizona Cardinals 40-10 16 Stanford Cardinal 35-10 17 Ohio State Buckeyes 41-10-1 18 Virginia Tech Hokies 39-8 19 Mississippi State Bulldogs 35-15 20 Ole Miss Rebels 34-14 21 Nebraska Cornhuskers 35-12 22 Duke Blue Devils 37-15 23 Grand Canyon 40-6 24 Florida Atlantic 41-9 25 Liberty Flames 41-10 Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X@john9williams.
USA Today
29-01-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Florida softball ranked No. 3 in 2025 NFCA preseason coaches poll
Florida softball ranked No. 3 in 2025 NFCA preseason coaches poll The Florida softball team is poised to make a significant impact in the 2025 season, starting off ranked No. 3 in the NFCA/GoRout Division I Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Gators, who have consistently proven their talent on the diamond, trail only behind SEC opponents Texas and Oklahoma, which have secured the top two spots, respectively. Florida's ranking comes with high expectations, as they also garnered six first-place votes. This optimism is mirrored across other major polls, with Florida securing the top spot on both the Softball America and D1 Softball rankings and a respectable second place in the ESPN/USA Softball poll. The Gators are slated to face a grueling schedule, with 22 games against teams ranked in the preseason top 25, including eight of those being from the SEC. As the season unfolds, all eyes will be on this talented group of players to see if they can live up to the high expectations set by their preseason rankings and make a deep run in the pursuit of a national championship. NFCA/GoRout Division I Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll Clemson Tigers Mississippi State Bulldogs Oregon Ducks Washington Huskies Northwestern Wildcats Baylor Bears Nebraska Cornhuskers Stanford Cardinal Virginia Tech Hokies Arizona Wildcats Missouri Tigers Arkansas Razorbacks Texas Tech Red Raiders Georgia Bulldogs Alabama Crimson Tide LSU Tigers Florida State Seminoles Texas A&M Aggies Duke Blue Devils Tennessee Volunteers UCLA Bruins Oklahoma State Cowboys Florida Gators Oklahoma Sooners Texas Longhorns Florida's season opener The Gators start their season at home against North Florida on Thursday, Feb. 6. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on SEC Network+. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
