LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tennessee opened its home campaign with five wins and ran its undefeated start to 19 games as it is No. 1 for the third straight week in the 2026 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Lady Vols (19-0) were one first-place vote shy of being the unanimous No. 1 team as No. 2 Texas Tech earned the other first-place vote this week.

Despite its runs against total doubling to 10, Tennessee still posted one more shutout and allowed just one run in three of its victories, including two close contests against RV Penn State (3-1 & 4-1). Also, its 6-2 win over Appalachian State was the first time an opponent scored more than a run against UT pitching. The Lady Vols have now outscored their opponents 143-10 and are just one of three remaining undefeated teams in the top 25 (No. 4 Alabama and No. 20 Grand Canyon). 

No. 2 Texas Tech and No. 3 Texas remained in their respective rankings for the third consecutive week with the Crimson Tide (20-0) overtaking Florida for No. 4. That trio, along with No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 Arkansas, No. 8 UCLA and new-No. 9 Florida State, combined to go 40-0.

Riding a 19-game win streak, the Red Raiders (22-1) lit up the Rocky Johnson Field scoreboard with 92 runs, including a pair of 24-run outbursts against Abilene Christian and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Not to be outdone, the Sooners put up 32, 29 and 23 runs in two contests versus Alabama State and the Gators (22-1) dropped 29 on East Texas A&M and 21 on Oregon State.

On the flip side, Alabama posted six shutouts and surrendered just one run as it went 7-0 at home last week. The Crimson Tide have now twirled 12 shutouts and own a 0.68 ERA this season.

The Gators (23-1), who slipped to No. 5, suffered their first defeat of the season in a slugfest against No. 8 UCLA, 15-12. 

The third-ranked Longhorns and seventh-ranked Razorbacks have identical 19-1 records and are also on 17-game win streaks after taking care of business on their respective home fields last week.

The Bruins (18-3) are on a 12-game win streak after scoring at least 13 runs (78 total) in all five of their victories at the Judi Garman Classic.

Rounding out the top 10 is Nebraska. The Huskers (14-5) went 3-1 last week, which included a split at new-No. 19 Oklahoma State.

Also reaching the 20-win plateau last weekend were No. 20 Grand Canyon (22-0) and No. 24 UCF (20-4). The Lopes own the nation’s best record with their 22 wins, while the Knights joined the top 25 this week.

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 1.

2026 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll

3/3/26 (Week 4)

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).

New to Poll: No. 24 UCF

Dropped Out: No. 23 Duke (12-9)

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 1.

NFCA DI Top 25 Poll Committee

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