LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tennessee, which dominated the competition at the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational, vaulted to No. 1 in this week’s 2026 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. Collecting four top-25 victories, the Lady Vols (10-0) received 19 first-place votes and 755 points to earn the NFCA’s top spot for the first time since Feb. 11, 2014.
Not only did UT add four top-25 wins to its resume, it did so in resounding fashion, plucking off Nebraska, Florida Atlantic, UCLA and Florida State by the scores of 4-1, 8-0, 11-0 and 9-1. Add an 11-0 thumping of JMU and the Lady Vols outscored their competitors, 43-2 in Clearwater. It was the second consecutive undefeated weekend in the Sunshine State for the Lady Vols, who opened the season with the 2026 NFCA Division Leadoff Classic title, including ranked wins over Liberty and Oregon.
Texas Tech, last week’s No. 1 team, posted a 4-1 showing at the Shriners, earning top-25 victories over Florida State and Florida Atlantic, but dropped its first contest of the season in the tournament finale to new-No. 10 Nebraska. The Red Raiders (11-1), who also blanked Northwestern and JMU, received 10 first-place votes and 741 points.
Texas, which earned the final two first-place votes (717 points), opened up its home campaign with five wins in its annual Bevo Classic. The Longhorns (9-1) posted four-run rule wins, scoring 55 runs against Abilene Christina, Ohio State, Syracuse and Northern Illinois.
No. 4 Florida rattled off seven more wins last week to improve to 12-0 on the young season. After outscoring Jacksonville 31-1 in a home-and-home series, the Gators generated two wins over Marshall and Georgia Tech as well as one more versus FIU as hosts of the Florida Classic in Gainesville.
Highlighted by a nearly-record breaking 34-0 win at UTEP, No. 5 Oklahoma generated 91 runs over a five-game stretch last week, scoring at least 10 runs in all five of its victories. The 34 runs in El Paso was one-run shy of the program record.
Rounding out the final five spots of the top 10 are No. 6 Florida State, No. 7 Arkansas, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 Nebraska. The Seminoles (8-2), Bruins (7-3) and Huskers (6-4) all took part in the loaded field at the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational.
FSU notched ranked wins over FAU and UCLA with its two defeats to this and last week’s No. 1 teams Tennessee and Texas Tech. Along with its win over the Red Raiders, the Huskers blanked then-No. 12 LSU and UCF. The Bruins’ two wins were against Missouri and LSU.
The seventh-ranked Razorbacks (8-1) ran through the Texas State Tournament, outscoring the opposition, 42-3, including a 12-0 victory over then-No. 18 Clemson. No. 8 Alabama is the third undefeated team in the top 10 at 9-0, taking care of business at home with four wins, two each over Liberty and Purdue, hosting the Bama Bash.
Joining Tennessee, Florida and Alabama as the only undefeated top-25 programs is fellow SEC member Mississippi State at No. 14. The Bulldogs (10-0) swept through the eighth annual The Snowman: Alex Wilcox Memorial with five wins.
Making their way into the top 25 is No. 22 Arizona State and No. 24 Oklahoma State. The Sun Devils (10-1) have won nine straight, while the Cowgirls (6-4) notched nationally-ranked wins over new-No. 16 Georgia, UCLA and then-No. 8 Texas A&M.
The 2026 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 31 NCAA Division I head coaches with one representing each of the NCAA’s Division I Conferences. Records reflect games played through Feb. 15, 2026.
2026 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
2/17/26 (Week 2)
|
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
Record |
Prev. Ranking |
|
1 |
Tennessee (19) |
755 |
10-0 |
3 |
|
2 |
Texas Tech (10) |
741 |
11-1 |
1 |
|
3 |
Texas (2) |
717 |
9-1 |
2 |
|
4 |
Florida |
682 |
12-0 |
t4 |
|
5 |
Oklahoma |
656 |
8-1 |
t4 |
|
6 |
Florida State |
573 |
8-2 |
7 |
|
7 |
Arkansas |
562 |
8-1 |
9 |
|
8 |
Alabama |
551 |
9-0 |
10 |
|
9 |
UCLA |
516 |
7-3 |
6 |
|
10 |
Nebraska |
465 |
6-4 |
11 |
|
11 |
Texas A&M |
459 |
7-3 |
8 |
|
12 |
Stanford |
437 |
8-1 |
13 |
|
13 |
South Carolina |
352 |
7-2 |
16 |
|
14 |
Mississippi State |
330 |
10-0 |
19 |
|
15 |
Arizona |
295 |
8-3 |
17 |
|
16 |
Georgia |
289 |
9-2 |
20 |
|
17 |
Virginia Tech |
280 |
7-2 |
14 |
|
18 |
Oregon |
260 |
5-4 |
15 |
|
19 |
LSU |
248 |
7-4 |
12 |
|
20 |
Duke |
197 |
7-3 |
22 |
|
21 |
Virginia |
135 |
7-1 |
24 |
|
22 |
Arizona State |
130 |
10-1 |
RV |
|
23 |
Clemson |
125 |
6-4 |
18 |
|
24 |
Oklahoma State |
79 |
6-4 |
RV |
|
25 |
Ole Miss |
71 |
6-4 |
21 |
Receiving Votes: Grand Canyon (48), North Florida (29), Florida Atlantic (22), Southeastern Louisiana (19), Omaha (15), Michigan (12), Auburn (11), Washington (7), UCF (4), Charlotte (1), Michigan State (1), San Diego State (1).
New to Poll: No. 22 Arizona State, No. 24 Oklahoma State
Dropped Out: No. 23 Florida Atlantic, No. 25 Southeastern Louisiana
The 2026 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 31 NCAA Division I head coaches with one representing each of the NCAA’s Division I Conferences. Poll will be released on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. ET during the regular season. Records reflect games played through Feb. 15, 2026.
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