NCAA softball top 25 rankings roundup for April 21
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There’s a new No. 1 team in one of the major NCAA Softball top 25 rankings this week.
That team is the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who rose two spots to No. 1 in Softball America’s top 25 rankings on Sunday. Nebraska (36-6) has won 11 straight games entering Week 12 after a three-game sweep of Minnesota over the weekend. The Huskers will look to extend their win streak when they host the Iowa Hawkeyes on Friday.
In the SEC, the Alabama Crimson Tide (42-4, 15-3) moved into a first-place tie with coach Patty Gasso’s Oklahoma Sooners (42-6, 15-3) atop the conference standings. Alabama swept the Kentucky Wildcats over the weekend at Rhoads Stadium, in large part thanks to a thrilling three-run seventh inning rally on Saturday, while Oklahoma settled for taking two of three from a top-10 Arkansas team in Norman.
Both the Crimson Tide and Sooners suffered rare losses in midweek play to Samford and Oklahoma State, respectively. Alabama visits Tennessee (37-7) in a top-10 series beginning Saturday. Oklahoma hosts a top-15 Georgia Bulldogs (33-12) team in Norman.
Out in the Big 12, Texas Tech (42-4) wasn’t immune to the midweek bug, either. The Red Raiders were blanked, 3-0, on Wednesday night in San Marcos against Texas State. Texas Tech meets Arizona State (35-13) in Tempe for a top-25 series this weekend, as well.
Here’s a look at where Alabama softball sits in this week’s top 25 polls and national outlet rankings.
NCAA Softball Coaches Poll sees familiar team at No. 1
In Tuesday’s new Week 11 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma remained No. 1 for the second straight week. The top three teams remained the same with Texas Tech holding at No. 2 and Alabama at No. 3.
The Crimson Tide received seven first-place votes and are ranked one spot ahead of Nebraska and two spots ahead of SEC rival Florida (43-6). The Coaches Poll again features six SEC schools in the top 10 in Tuesday’s rankings. The SEC continues to lead the way with 10 teams overall in the top 25.
Here’s a look at the full Coaches Poll rankings as of April 21.
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma (12) | 42-6 | 726 | 1 |
| 2 | Texas Tech (4) | 42-4 | 724 | 2 |
| 3 | Alabama (7) | 42-4 | 721 | 3 |
| 4 | Nebraska (4) | 36-6 | 674 | 6 |
| 5 | Florida (2) | 43-6 | 670 | 4 |
| 6 | UCLA (2) | 41-5 | 624 | 9 |
| 7 | Texas | 34-7 | 594 | 5 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 37-7 | 554 | 7 |
| 9 | Arkansas | 36-8 | 522 | 8 |
| 10 | Florida State | 39-7 | 479 | 10 |
| 11 | Texas A&M | 34-12 | 473 | 12 |
| 12 | Oregon | 35-9 | 438 | 13 |
| 13 | Virginia Tech | 38-8 | 368 | 11 |
| 14 | Duke | 35-12 | 364 | 17 |
| 15 | Georgia | 33-12 | 355 | 15 |
| 16 | Stanford | 30-12 | 263 | 20 |
| 17 | Mississippi State | 34-14 | 248 | 14 |
| 18 | Oklahoma State | 30-12 | 235 | 21 |
| 19 | Arizona | 31-13 | 224 | 16 |
| 20 | LSU | 32-14 | 210 | 22 |
| 21 | Grand Canyon | 43-6 | 135 | 19 |
| 22 | UCF | 35-12-1 | 115 | 24 |
| 23 | Virginia | 33-11 | 92 | 18 |
| 24 | Arizona State | 35-13 | 82 | 25 |
| 25 | Washington | 34-12 | 59 | 23 |
Others receiving votes:
Louisville (54), Belmont (27), Clemson (17), Southeastern Louisiana (11), South Carolina (8), Kansas (4), Omaha (4), Nevada (1).
SEC teams battle for top spot in D1Softball, ESPN.com top 25 polls
The race between Alabama and Oklahoma in the SEC extends to the top 25 rankings from D1Softball and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, as well.
The Sooners edged the Crimson Tide for No. 1 in both rankings this week. Both teams have two weekend series remaining in conference play. After hosting Georgia, Oklahoma closes the regular season at Texas A&M (34-12). Alabama hosts South Carolina (26-21) in its regular-season finale.
Nebraska rose to No. 3 in the ESPN/USA Softball Poll while Texas Tech held the third spot in D1Softball’s rankings.
Alabama softball schedule 2026
Where to watch Alabama softball vs UAB today: Start time, TV info
📸 Gary Cosby Jr., Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images https://t.co/0O2q8cKPuhpic.twitter.com/CfTR69Ckkq
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) April 21, 2026
Alabama faces UAB (20-26) at Mary Bowers Field in Birmingham Tuesday in the Crimson Tide’s final midweek game of 2026. First pitch for Alabama-UAB is 6 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
The Crimson Tide visit Tennessee beginning Saturday. First pitch for the series opener is 3 p.m. CT. Game 1 of the series will stream on SEC Network+. Game 2 will be televised on ESPN2, and Game 3 can be seen on SEC Network.
Here’s a look at Alabama’s 2026 SEC softball schedule with final scores and scheduled start times. All times Central.
- March 6-8: at Ole Miss (W, 5-3; W, 13-2; W, 2-1)
- March 13-15: vs. Arkansas (W, 4-1; L, 14-9; W, 4-1)
- March 20-22: at Missouri (W, 2-1; L, 5-2; W, 7-4)
- April 2-4: vs. Texas (L, 9-1; W, 11-4; W, 7-4)
- April 10-12: at Auburn (W, 1-0; W, 4-0; W, 9-1)
- April 17-19: vs. Kentucky (W, 9-0, W, 5-4; W, 4-0)
- April 25-27: at Tennessee (3 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, 6 p.m. Monday)
- April 30-May 2: vs. South Carolina (6 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Sunday)
- May 5-9: SEC Tournament (Lexington, Kentucky)
Record: 42-4 overall, 15-3 SEC.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama, OU, Nebraska eye top spot in NCAA Softball top 25 rankings
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