UPSET ALERT!!!!! Four weeks in on NCAA division 1 college softball has truly been one of the most exciting, thrilling, and shocking starts to a softball season in the history of softball. Average teams and teams most people have never even heard of have truly came to the top and performing amazingly well, making a name for themselves and their school. The current NCAA USA today and NFCA Coaches top 25 rankings and team records are:
1. UCLA (19-1) 16. Michigan (12-6)
2. Washington (19-2) 17. Arizona State (16-6)
3. Texas (20-3) 18. Minnesota (12-7)
4. Arizona (17-3) 19. Virginia Tech (16-4)
5. LSU (16-3) 20. Arkansas (16-4)
6. Oklahoma (15-4) 21. Baylor (17-4)
7. Florida (17-4) 22. UCF (16-2)
8. Louisiana (14-5) 23. Missouri (15-6)
9. Alabama (12-7) 24. Mississippi State (18-2)
10. Kentucky (17-3) 25. Fresno State (16-4)
11. Oregon (17-2)
12. Florida State (10-6)
13. Georgia (20-4)
14. Oklahoma State (13-5)
15. South Carolina (14-4)
The rankings are based on team performance, difficulty of schedule, votes by coaches within college softball, and situational deciding factors throughout the softball season. Though these rankings don’t mean much, they are roughly a guesstimate on who people think will have a high-performance season and who have the greatest chance to go to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City towards the end of May. A large number of top 25 teams have been beaten in multiple games by teams who aren’t in the top 25. Most of these defeats are shocking and come out of nowhere, surprising the whole softball nation. One upset in the 2020 softball season is Loyola Marymount upsets Number 5 ranked LSU on February 27 at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton California. This was Loyola Marymount’s highest ranked win in their program history. The last time Loyola Marymount beat a top 25 ranked opponent was in 2002 against number 10 ranked Fresno State according to ncaa.com. Some other upsets came from number 3 ranked Texas. Texas faced number 1 ranked UCLA and number 2 ranked Washington, defeating both teams. Texas gave UCLA their first loss of the season in Los Angeles California at Easton Stadium on February 28, surprising Bruin nation in the 8 inning match up. Texas also defeats number 2 ranked Washington in the Judi Garman Classic at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton California according to ncaa.com. Texas softball was predicted to be good this season, but not this good. The top 25 ranked team drops the top 2 rankings, boosting their record and their votes. The longhorns successfully managed victories over the top two teams in the country in consecutive games for the first time in their program history says ncaa.com. Another recent upset for the college softball world was when East Tennessee takes down the University of Tennessee for the first time ever in program history at the Buccaneer Classic in Johnson City Tennessee. At the time of this upset UT was ranked number 20 but recently dropped in the polls kicking them out of the top 25 rankings. East Tennessee ended UT’s 100 game winning streak against in-state opponents and a 19-game losing streak against UT according to ncaa.com. The final upset that came from recent college softball came when number 23 ranked Missouri run-ruled number 21 ranked Baylor and defeated number 18 ranked Minnesota in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater Florida. Missouri beat Baylor in 5 innings and beat Minnesota in a thrilling extra inning game, running a total of 8 innings. Ncaa.com states that this was a big turning point for the Missouri Tigers carrying them into the rest of the season. Overall, college softball has been super exciting to watch and keep up with the last 4 weeks. No-name teams are making a comeback and making this thrilling sport come up on top headlines. The rest of the 2020 softball season will definitely be shocking, stay tuned for more updates on all of the upsets!
Kamdyn Kvistad's Sports Blog 