LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Unbeaten Lone Grove ascended to the top spot in the GameChanger/NFCA Summer-Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll, the Association announced on Thursday afternoon.
The (25-0) Longhorns didn’t allow a run in their two victories this week, blanking Ada, 10-0 on Monday, and routing Plainview, 11-0 on Tuesday.
Lone Grove is idle until Monday when it plays a pair of district games against Sulphur (12-10).
Meanwhile, Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Harris County snapped Buford’s 46-game win streak and dropped the (16-1) Wolves all the way from first to seventh, below a group of six unbeaten squads. Buford had been the No. 1 team in the poll for the last 12 weeks, including the first three rankings of this season and the final nine of 2025. The Wolves did bounce back from the rare loss with a pair of convincing victories over Fayette County and Dacula by a combined 40-5 margin.
Blanchard (22-0), Windsor (14-0), Broken Arrow (24-0), Enid (26-0) and Grain Valley (15-0) all stayed perfect to keep pace behind Lone Grove. Windsor won six games this past week, while Enid and Grain Valley each added five triumphs to their ledger. Enid was particularly dominant, outscoring its five opponents 48-4.
Appling County (14-0) continued its unbeaten run to join the rankings for the first time at No. 10, just ahead of Warner (22-1), which maintained its No. 11 spot despite suffering a 2-0 loss to Red Oak on Tuesday that snapped the Eagles’ 22-game win streak.
No. 16 Millard North (17-3) also had a strong week, winning its three games by a 38-0 margin.
State rankings submitted by the NFCA High School Steering Committee are used to compile the GameChanger/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.
GameChanger/NFCA Summer-Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll – Sept. 17, 2026
|
Rank |
Team |
2026 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
25-0 |
2 |
|
|
2 |
22-0 |
3 |
|
|
3 |
14-0 |
4 |
|
|
4 |
24-0 |
5 |
|
|
5 |
26-0 |
6 |
|
|
6 |
15-0 |
8 |
|
|
7 |
16-1 |
1 |
|
|
8 |
11-1 |
9 |
|
|
9 |
12-1 |
10 |
|
|
10 |
Appling County (Ga.) |
14-0 |
NR |
|
11 |
22-1 |
11 |
|
|
12 |
12-2 |
12 |
|
|
13 |
11-2 |
13 |
|
|
14 |
17-2 |
14 |
|
|
15 |
10-2 |
21 |
|
|
16 |
17-3 |
16 |
|
|
17 |
12-2 |
23 |
|
|
18 |
14-4 |
7 |
|
|
19 |
12-3 |
15 |
|
|
20 |
16-3 |
19 |
|
|
21 |
15-4 |
17 |
|
|
22 |
16-5 |
18 |
|
|
23 |
8-5 |
20 |
|
|
24 |
14-5 |
24 |
|
|
T25 |
40-4 |
T25 |
|
|
T25 |
37-4 |
T25 |
Dropped out: Omaha Skutt (Neb.)
NFCA High School Steering Committee
GameChanger empowers athletes, coaches, and families to stay connected through live streaming, scorekeeping, team management tools and developmental resources. Available on iOS, Android, and the web, the live streaming and team management technology is available for all youth sports, and covers more than nine million games annually in baseball, softball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, football, lacrosse and hockey. GameChanger is based in New York City and is owned and operated by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
The NFCA is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded coaches polls and All-America awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to awards, to in-person events and National Convention.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining our lineup of over 7,000 coaches today!
