LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Despite dropping its first game of the season, Tennessee held on to the No. 1 ranking in this week’s 2026 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Lady Vols (26-1) had their perfect start to the season (25 games) snapped in game two at new-No. 11 Mississippi State, but bounced back to win the series in Starkville.
UT received 23 first-place votes, followed by new-No. 2 Texas with seven and No. 17 Grand Canyon, the last undefeated team in NCAA Division I and Division II, garnering one first-place vote. The Lopes (30-0) are also the first NCAA team to hit 30 wins in 2026. No. 4 Alabama, which entered last week undefeated, also suffered its first defeat, a game-two setback to previous-No. 8 Arkansas.
In three close ballgames, the Lady Vols opened with a 3-1 victory in nine innings. The Bulldogs (27-4) responded with a 1-0 shutout in game two before Tennessee captured the series with a 4-1 triumph.
A red-hot Longhorn squad leapfrogged Texas Tech for the No. 2 spot. Texas (26-1) extended its 24-game winning streak last week, collecting four more wins at home, including three over RV Ole Miss in SEC action. After a 3-1 triumph, the Longhorns closed out the series sweep with two convincing run-rule victories.
The third-ranked Red Raiders saw their 14-game win streak snapped in their Big 12 opener against No. 13 Arizona. Texas Tech responded to its run-rule loss to the Wildcats (21-7) with two run-rule victories to take the series.
The Crimson Tide (26-1), who had their 25-game undefeated start to the season snapped by the Razorbacks (23-4), sandwiched a pair of 4-1 wins around the game-two loss to capture the series.
No.6 Oklahoma (28-2), No. 7 UCLA (25-3), No. 8 Florida State (25-4) and No. 9 Nebraska (21-5) all got through their weeks unscathed, extending their winning streaks to 17, 19, 14 and 10 games, respectively.
Arizona State (22-7) made a significant move to No. 20 following its series win over then-No. 21 Oklahoma State.
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 March 15.
2026 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
3/17/26 (Week 6)
|
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
Record |
Prev. Ranking |
|
1 |
Tennessee (23) |
767 |
26-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Texas (7) |
737 |
26-1 |
3 |
|
3 |
Texas Tech |
700 |
27-2 |
2 |
|
4 |
Alabama |
673 |
26-1 |
4 |
|
5 |
Florida |
658 |
29-1 |
5 |
|
6 |
Oklahoma |
635 |
28-2 |
6 |
|
7 |
UCLA |
592 |
25-3 |
7 |
|
8 |
Florida State |
538 |
25-4 |
9 |
|
9 |
Nebraska |
513 |
21-5 |
10 |
|
10 |
Arkansas |
507 |
23-4 |
8 |
|
11 |
Mississippi State |
447 |
27-4 |
12 |
|
12 |
Virginia Tech |
399 |
23-4 |
11 |
|
13 |
Arizona |
387 |
21-7 |
13 |
|
14 |
Virginia |
362 |
25-3 |
14 |
|
15 |
Georgia |
317 |
20-7 |
15 |
|
16 |
Texas A&M |
315 |
19-8 |
16 |
|
17 |
Grand Canyon (1) |
314 |
30-0 |
17 |
|
18 |
Oregon |
277 |
21-7 |
18 |
|
19 |
Stanford |
122 |
15-8 |
19 |
|
20 |
Arizona State |
120 |
22-7 |
25 |
|
21 |
South Carolina |
110 |
19-10 |
23 |
|
22 |
LSU |
108 |
18-9 |
20 |
|
23 |
Oklahoma State |
102 |
18-9 |
21 |
|
24 |
UCF |
99 |
23-7 |
22 |
|
25 |
Clemson |
82 |
19-9 |
24 |
Receiving Votes: Duke (62), North Carolina (49), Purdue (21), Utah (20), Washington (14), Southeastern Louisiana (10), Belmont (6), Baylor (5), North Florida (4), USF (2), Ole Miss (1).
New to Poll: N/A
Dropped Out: N/A
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 March 15.
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