Alabama softball continues rise in Coaches Poll ahead of SEC opener
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Alabama softball continued its blistering start to the 2026 season by winning all six games at the T-Mobile Crimson Classic at Rhoads Stadium over the weekend.
Coach Patrick Murphy's Crimson Tide will head into their SEC opener against Ole Miss unbeaten in nonconference play after going 6-0 in three days against St. Thomas, South Florida, Kent State, and Oakland.
After another unbeaten week, Alabama (20-0 overall) rose again in Tuesday's new NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Tide moved up one spot to No. 4, jumping past SEC rival Florida.
Tennessee (19-0) held on to the top spot for the fourth week in a row. Texas Tech (22-1) remained No. 2, and Texas (19-1) stayed at No. 3. With Florida (23-1) at No. 5, the SEC has four teams in the top five and six in the top 10.
Alabama won a 2-0 pitcher's duel in Friday's opener against St. Thomas when Jocelyn Briski ran her record to 5-0 in the circle with a complete game, two-hit shutout. Later that night, Vic Moten followed with five shutout innings of one-hit ball in an 8-0 victory over South Florida.
For the weekend, Alabama outscored its opponents by a combined tally of 41-2. Moten improved to 9-0 with a 0.32 ERA in nine appearances, including eight starts spanning 43 2/3 innings. Briski's 5-0 record includes a 0.91 ERA in 30 2/3 innings.
Alabama boasts a 0.68 ERA and 154 strikeouts to 27 walks in 124 innings. Opponents are batting just .132 against Crimson Tide pitching.
Led by Brooke Wells' .468 average and Marlie Giles' .452 clip, Alabama is batting .375 at the plate with 39 home runs and 27 doubles in their 20 games. The Crimson Tide have outscored their opponents, 155-14, this season.
Softball Coaches Poll full top 25 rankings entering SEC play
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tennessee (30) | 19-0 | 774 | 1 |
| 2 | Texas Tech (1) | 22-1 | 737 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas | 19-1 | 710 | 3 |
| 4 | Alabama | 20-0 | 657 | 5 |
| 5 | Florida | 23-1 | 645 | 4 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 19-2 | 615 | 6 |
| 7 | Arkansas | 19-1 | 594 | 7 |
| 8 | UCLA | 18-3 | 571 | 8 |
| 9 | Florida State | 17-4 | 499 | 10 |
| 10 | Nebraska | 14-5 | 490 | 9 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech | 16-2 | 483 | 11 |
| 12 | Mississippi State | 18-2 | 408 | 12 |
| 13 | Arizona | 17-5 | 377 | 14 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 15-7 | 328 | 13 |
| 15 | Georgia | 17-5 | 377 | 15 |
| 16 | Virginia | 19-1 | 303 | 18 |
| 17 | LSU | 17-4 | 301 | 17 |
| 18 | Oregon | 13-6 | 207 | 20 |
| 19 | Oklahoma State | 15-5 | 200 | 21 |
| 20 | Grand Canyon | 22-0 | 196 | 22 |
| 21 | Stanford | 11-6 | 185 | 16 |
| 22 | Arizona State | 19-3 | 134 | 24 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 15-6 | 127 | 19 |
| 24 | UCF | 20-4 | 64 | |
| 25 | Clemson | 13-7 | 57 | 25 |
Others receiving votes:
North Carolina (30), Ole Miss (25), Duke (24), Penn State (10), Belmont (8), Florida Atlantic (4), Auburn (3), Michigan (3), North Florida (1), Southeastern Louisiana (1).
Dropped out:
No. 23 Duke (12-9)
3 takeaways from Alabama softball's weekend at the Crimson Classic
📸 Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News, Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images https://t.co/HYT0KqjayBpic.twitter.com/Vraj1US1Yt
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) March 2, 2026
Here's a look at where Alabama softball sits in other top 25 polls and rankings.
Alabama soars into top five of D1Softball rankings
Alabama rose in Tuesday's top 25 rankings from D1 Softball, climbing three spots to No. 5. The Crimson Tide are ranked one spot below Patty Gasso's Oklahoma Sooners and one spot ahead of the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Alabama up one spot in ESPN.com, USA Softball poll
Alabama also rose climbed in Monday's ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll, moving up one spot to No. 6. The Crimson Tide are one spot below the Nebraska Cornhuskers and one spot aehad of the UCLA Bruins.
Tennessee remained No. 1 in all national outlet rankings.
Alabama softball schedule: SEC opener looms for Crimson Tide
Alabama opens conference play with a trip to Oxford for a three-game series against the Ole Miss Rebels (16-5) beginning Friday. First pitch for Alabama-Ole Miss is 6 p.m. CT Friday and Saturday. Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 1 p.m. All three games can be seen on ESPN+.
Here's a look at Alabama's 2026 SEC softball schedule. All tentative start times Central.
- March 6-8: at Ole Miss (6 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday)
- March 13-15: vs. Arkansas (6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday)
- March 20-22: at Missouri (5 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday, noon Sunday)
- April 2-4: vs. Texas (6 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday)
- April 10-12: at Auburn (6 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday)
- April 17-19: vs. Kentucky (5 p.m. Friday, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday)
- 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. Saturday)
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama softball continues rise in Coaches Poll following 20-0 start
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