LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nebraska state champion Gretna is No. 1 in the final NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll of the season, following a late loss by fellow state titlist East Coweta, which had been the top team in the rankings for the past nine weeks.
Gretna (38-0) wrapped up its unbeaten 2024 season with a 8-0 victory over then-No. 18 Millard North in the Class A championship back on Oct. 21. The Dragons outscored their final three opponents — all nationally-ranked at the time — by a 26-0 margin and loomed just behind East Coweta in the second spot for the past three weeks. They ended up as the only perfect team in this year’s poll.
East Coweta (37-1) suffered its only defeat of the season in the first championship game of the double-elimination Georgia 6A state tournament, 1-0 to then-No. 3 Buford, last Saturday. The Indians had defeated the Wolves 2-0 last Thursday and Mill Creek 3-1 on Friday to reach the final. East Coweta quickly rebounded to capture the winner-take-all second championship game, 4-3, later on Saturday.
The title was redemption for the Indians, who had lost to Buford in the last two state 7A championships. Both schools moved to 6A this season.
Despite that hurdle, perennial-power East Coweta claimed its fourth state title in the last eight seasons (2017, 2018 and 2020 in 7A) across the two classifications. Overall, the Indians have appeared in five straight state finals and seven of the last eight.
Buford (32-3) fought its way back to the championship game following Thursday’s defeat to East Coweta by defeating North Gwinnett and North Cobb, 11-0 and 7-0 respectively, last Friday and rolling past Mill Creek 14-1 earlier in the day on Saturday.
Meanwhile, No. 9 Wesleyan won a fourth consecutive Georgia state crown by winning six games in three days, including defeating Hebron Christian twice in the Private School championship on Saturday. The (31-2) Wolves won the 3A state title in 2022 and 2023 and captured their other Private School crown in 2021.
No. 16 North Cobb (34-5) didn’t fare as well as East Coweta and Buford in the Georgia 6A tournament, losing to both third-place finisher Mill Creek and the runner-up Wolves, with a shutout of Hillgrove in between.
Rock Bridge suffered a heartbreaking 3-0 eight-inning, walk-off loss to Lafayette in the Missouri Class 5 final last Friday to snap its 17-game win streak. The (32-7) Bruins’ Ava Bush had just robbed a home run and doubled off a baserunner at second to keep the game scoreless the previous inning, but Riley Mulligan’s three-run shot following an intentional walk to winning pitcher Abby Carr (no-hitter, 16 strikeouts) finally put the cap on a championship that will be remembered for years to come.
No. 20 Lassiter (26-8) defeated Effingham County and Creekview, but then lost twice to Creekview in the two championship games to finish as runner-up in Georgia 5A.
Back in Missouri, Helias Catholic (23-8) was blanked by No. 18 Rock Bridge before falling in eight innings to Liberty North to close its Class 5 season earlier than it hoped last Thursday.
State rankings submitted by the 2024 NFCA High School Steering Committee are used to compile the NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll. Teams are chosen based on performance, roster quality and strength of schedule. Five states — Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri — play a fall fastpitch schedule, while Iowa recently completed its summer season.
NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll – Nov. 7, 2024
|
Rank |
Team |
2024 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Gretna (Neb.) |
38-0 |
2 |
|
2 |
East Coweta (Ga.) |
37-1 |
1 |
|
3 |
Van Meter (Iowa) |
43-1 |
4 |
|
4 |
Lutheran (Colo.) |
27-1 |
5 |
|
5 |
Dale (Okla.) |
36-1 |
6 |
|
6 |
Pocola (Okla.) |
34-1 |
7 |
|
7 |
Broomfield (Colo.) |
27-1 |
8 |
|
8 |
Buford (Ga.) |
32-3 |
3 |
|
9 |
Wesleyan (Ga.) |
31-2 |
9 |
|
10 |
Caddo (Okla.) |
33-2 |
10 |
|
11 |
Grain Valley (Mo.) |
33-3 |
11 |
|
12 |
Pleasant Valley (Iowa) |
40-3 |
13 |
|
13 |
Eaton (Colo.) |
26-3 |
14 |
|
14 |
Lincoln Southwest (Neb.) |
36-5 |
15 |
|
15 |
Dewar (Okla.) |
35-5 |
16 |
|
16 |
North Cobb (Ga.) |
34-5 |
12 |
|
17 |
Valor Christian (Colo.) |
21-5 |
17 |
|
18 |
Rock Bridge (Mo.) |
32-7 |
18 |
|
19 |
Owasso (Okla.) |
29-6 |
19 |
|
20 |
Lassiter (Ga.) |
26-8 |
20 |
|
21 |
Millard North (Neb.) |
31-7 |
22 |
|
22 |
Raymore-Peculiar (Mo.) |
24-7 |
23 |
|
23 |
Blue Springs South (Mo.) |
23-7 |
24 |
|
24 |
Piedmont (Okla.) |
30-7 |
25 |
|
25 |
Helias Catholic (Mo.) |
23-8 |
21 |
Dropped out: None.
2024 NFCA High School Steering Committee
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