{"id":597886,"date":"2026-04-21T16:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/597886\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T16:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:38:08","slug":"college-softball-power-rankings-theres-movement-in-the-top-10-after-another-wild-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/597886\/","title":{"rendered":"College softball power rankings: There\u2019s movement in the top 10 after (another) wild week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week while I\u2019m watching softball matchups or catching up on scores, I tell myself, \u201cMan, this is going to be the hardest week to decide the power rankings.\u201d And every time, each week is one-upped by the last. In terms of unpredictability and chaos, I think the games from April 13 to Sunday take the cake \u2026 for now.<\/p>\n

At this point, it\u2019s worth pointing out that, obviously, college softball has quite the slate, with each team playing around 55 games in the regular season, then tack on about 15 or so for those that make it all the way to the Women\u2019s College World Series. In other words, it\u2019s the long haul that matters. So before anybody says there\u2019s some Oklahoma or SEC bias going on, just keep in mind that the team\u2019s RPI, level of competition within conferences and series wins over individual games are what matter in the end.<\/p>\n

With that, let\u2019s dive into what happened in the last week:<\/p>\n

Mid-week upset alert: The madness started Tuesday night, and then it didn\u2019t stop. Props to Samford for throwing a wrench into the softball universe, taking down No. 2 Alabama 3-2 in a midweek matchup. Though the Tide took the lead early with solo homers by Audrey Vandagriff and Ana Roman, the Bulldogs rallied in the fifth while silencing Bama\u2019s bats to complete the shocker. Later that night, Arizona State got in on the action by upsetting No. 24 and in-state rival Grand Canyon 5-1. Sun Devil ace Kenzie Brown threw a complete-game gem, tallying 16 strikeouts. ASU has been a bit up-and-down this year, but next week\u2019s series against Texas Tech should be telling as to where it really stands as the postseason approaches.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Texas Tech, the No. 3 Red Raiders were stunned by Texas State 3-0 in what was the Bobcats\u2019 highest-ranked win in program history. This is Texas State\u2019s third upset this season, following wins over Clemson and Texas A&M in the early stages of the year.<\/p>\n

Over on the East Coast on Wednesday, No. 14 Duke took down No. 9 Tennessee in an ACC-SEC showdown in which the Blue Devils tallied six runs against the ever-powerful duo in the circle of Karlyn Pickens and Sage Mardjetko. Tyrina Jones led the way for Duke at the plate with a double and a two-run homer, while Jessica Oakland also launched a three-run shot. Three runs were scored in the first five pitches of the game, and the Blue Devils never looked back.<\/p>\n

NO. 14 DUKE TAKES DOWN NO. 9 TENNESSEE \ud83d\ude08@DukeSOFTBALL<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/B7fod8rFXP<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ACC Network (@accnetwork) April 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Last but certainly not least, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State met in Oklahoma City\u2019s Devon Park, the home of the Women\u2019s College World Series, for another edition of the Bedlam rivalry. The Cowgirls downed the No. 1 Sooners 6-4, thanks to a gritty performance from pitcher Ruby Meylan, who notched nine strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs against perhaps the top offense in the country. Karli Godwin had the big knock with a solo homer in the third inning to tie things up at 2-2 \u2014 erasing yet another blast by Sooners star Kendall Wells, her 32nd of the year \u2014 before the Cowgirls broke out with timely clutch hits by Jayelle Austin and Lexi McDonald.<\/p>\n

A meeting of former Pac-12 foes: Heading into the weekend, Washington had not dropped a single conference game this season. The Huskies\u2019 fellow West Coast Big Ten member decided to change that. After a rollercoaster start to the season, Oregon has slowly risen in the rankings and continued its momentum with a sweep of the Huskies as the cherry on top of their celebration of the program\u2019s 60th anniversary. Since joining the Big Ten before the 2025 season, the Ducks have not dropped a single conference series \u2014 keep in mind, that\u2019s a slate that now includes UCLA, as well as perennial Midwest powerhouses Michigan, Northwestern and Nebraska \u2014 and Oregon is now just a game behind Nebraska in the Big Ten standings. The Ducks are looking to repeat as conference champions, and with Lyndsey Grein, Elon Butler and newly minted AUSL Golden Ticket honoree Amari Harper, they have the squad to make it happen. The final weeks in the Big Ten are about to get very interesting, with UCLA and Washington facing off this coming weekend, before the Bruins and Ducks wrap up the regular season with a series showdown.<\/p>\n

Holy smokes, Bruins: While we\u2019re on the topic of UCLA, it\u2019d be impossible not to recognize the insanity that continues to be the Bruins\u2019 offense, led by none other than Megan Grant and Jordan Woolery. For all the buzz Wells and the Sooners are getting about potentially breaking the single-season NCAA team home run record of 162 and the individual single-season mark, Grant and the Bruins are very much still horses in those respective races. The Sooners have tallied 158 long balls so far, while the Bruins are at 154, and Grant remains just three behind Wells with 31 homers to the Oklahoma freshman\u2019s 34. No matter what, it was a historic weekend for UCLA, as it demolished in-state foe California in a doubleheader sweep.<\/p>\n

Jordan Woolery went 6-for-7 on the day with four home runs, 10 RBIs and five runs, a performance that made her just the fifth player in NCAA history to record 100 RBIs in a season. She also surpassed Stacey Nuveman\u2019s 26-year-old program record of 91 RBIs in one year. With her 30th homer of the season, Woolery and Grant became the first teammates in Division I history to each reach that mark in a season, and Woolery joins former Arizona star Laura Espinoza (whose name may sound familiar with the record Wells is nearing) as the only other player to tally at least 30 homers and 100 RBI in a single season.<\/p>\n

Grant also made program history of her own, tying Nuveman\u2019s record of 31 home runs in a single season. As a team, the Bruins set new program single-season marks in runs scored (520, previous was 499 in 2015) and total bases (1,052, previously 1,042 in 1999). Now take a deep breath. That was a lot. But to top it all off? Grant, Woolery and pitcher Taylor Tinsley were all presented with AUSL Golden Tickets. The party just doesn\u2019t stop!<\/p>\n

More conference chaos: After Clemson swept Virginia in upset fashion, Georgia Tech shockingly took its series against Virginia Tech, and with Stanford on the rise, things are getting crazy in the ACC. Not to mention, Louisville is still on a hot streak and now sits third in the standings behind Duke and Florida State. Virginia has taken quite the dive in the second half of the regular season, now at .500 in conference play after a strong start to the year. This weekend, I\u2019ve got my eye on Clemson vs. Duke in the ACC, because who doesn\u2019t want even more madness?<\/p>\n

In case you missed it: Texas A&M is also on quite a hot streak, especially after sweeping Mississippi State to jump up to third place in the SEC standings, behind Alabama and Oklahoma. Sunday\u2019s Game 3 between the Aggies and the Bulldogs was a wild one, with Mississippi State getting out to a 6-0 lead in the top of the first before Texas A&M responded with a nine-run inning of its own in the second. Sidne Peters held down the fort for the majority of the game in the circle, but the Bulldogs tried to mount a comeback in their last licks at the plate, coming within one run before Peters closed the door for a nail-biting 10-9 victory.<\/p>\n

On deck this week: We have more classic rivalries coming up this week with Florida vs. Florida State on Wednesday, while UCLA vs. Washington, Tennessee vs. Alabama and Georgia vs. Oklahoma all await this weekend, while the whole softball world remains on Wells home run record watch. Let\u2019s see what happens!<\/p>\n

RankTeamLast WeekOverallPrev WeekRPI <\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

Oklahoma<\/p>\n

2-2<\/p>\n

42-6<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Florida<\/p>\n

3-1<\/p>\n

43-6<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Nebraska<\/p>\n

3-0<\/p>\n

36-6<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

4<\/p>\n

UCLA<\/p>\n

4-0<\/p>\n

41-5<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

Alabama<\/p>\n

3-1<\/p>\n

42-4<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

Texas Tech<\/p>\n

2-1<\/p>\n

42-4<\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

12<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

Arkansas<\/p>\n

1-2<\/p>\n

36-8<\/p>\n

5<\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

Texas<\/p>\n

2-1<\/p>\n

35-7<\/p>\n

6<\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

Duke<\/p>\n

4-0<\/p>\n

35-12<\/p>\n

11<\/p>\n

13<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

Florida State<\/p>\n

3-0<\/p>\n

39-7<\/p>\n

12<\/p>\n

15<\/p>\n

11<\/p>\n

Tennessee<\/p>\n

1-1<\/p>\n

37-7<\/p>\n

9<\/p>\n

7<\/p>\n

12<\/p>\n

Texas A&M<\/p>\n

4-0<\/p>\n

34-12<\/p>\n

13<\/p>\n

11<\/p>\n

13<\/p>\n

LSU<\/p>\n

4-0<\/p>\n

32-14<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

Oregon<\/p>\n

3-0<\/p>\n

35-9<\/p>\n

17<\/p>\n

8<\/p>\n

15<\/p>\n

Georgia<\/p>\n

2-2<\/p>\n

33-13<\/p>\n

18<\/p>\n

14<\/p>\n

16<\/p>\n

Stanford<\/p>\n

4-0<\/p>\n

30-12<\/p>\n

19<\/p>\n

16<\/p>\n

17<\/p>\n

Virginia Tech<\/p>\n

2-2<\/p>\n

38-8<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

20<\/p>\n

18<\/p>\n

Oklahoma State<\/p>\n

3-1<\/p>\n

30-12<\/p>\n

25<\/p>\n

19<\/p>\n

19<\/p>\n

Mississippi State<\/p>\n

0-3<\/p>\n

34-14<\/p>\n

15<\/p>\n

18<\/p>\n

20<\/p>\n

UCF<\/p>\n

3-1<\/p>\n

35-12-1<\/p>\n

20<\/p>\n

21<\/p>\n

21<\/p>\n

Washington<\/p>\n

0-3<\/p>\n

34-12<\/p>\n

16<\/p>\n

26<\/p>\n

22<\/p>\n

Grand Canyon<\/p>\n

2-2<\/p>\n

43-6<\/p>\n

23<\/p>\n

31<\/p>\n

23<\/p>\n

Louisville<\/p>\n

4-0<\/p>\n

38-9<\/p>\n

24<\/p>\n

32<\/p>\n

24<\/p>\n

Clemson<\/p>\n

3-1<\/p>\n

30-17<\/p>\n

UR<\/p>\n

22<\/p>\n

25<\/p>\n

Arizona<\/p>\n

1-2<\/p>\n

31-13<\/p>\n

21<\/p>\n

17<\/p>\n

Just missed: Arizona State, Kansas<\/p>\n

Dropped out: Virginia<\/p>\n