Beyond-the-Fence of Softball Rankings

College & High School Softball Rankings

Softball rankings, or polls, are a pivotal part of the softball landscape. Polls generate excitement around our game and bring interest to the sport, match-ups and highlighted programs along the way.

Although polls are important and have a place in sport, they are not the only item used in determining championship selections. Given the rapid expansion of softball over the last 10 years, there are now a number of publications and organizations that put out collegiate softball rankings, but what makes the NFCA's polls unique is they are voted on entirely by coaches from their own respective divisions.

 NFCA Poll Committees

The NFCA's polls differentiate themselves from other media outlets because they are composed entirely of softball coaches from their own divisions. Who better to determine rankings than the coaches with their shoes in the dirt every week?

 The Polling Process

While each division has slight differences in their polling practices, much of the process stays the same from one division to another:

• NFCA staff will help pull relevant information to give committee members. This can include: RPI information, win-loss records, match-ups, stats and more. SIDs, across all three Divisions, assist in the information gathering during the early stages of the season (usually preseason) so coaches have everything they might need at their fingertips - including their own knowledge from their games and conference as a whole.
• Committee members will review all of the information available and vote individually via Google sheet (Division I), or for Divisions II/III, chat through everything together on a weekly call in addition to Google sheet votes.
• Coaches will give "votes" to teams based on where they would want them placed (25 votes head to Team #1 and 1 vote heads to the 25th placed team) for a total of 325 "votes" per coach. Individual spreadsheets are sent to committee members where they can place their votes, then votes are combined in a master spreadsheet and then double-checked each week for accuracy. Voting in this fashion is how some teams end up "receiving votes" - but are not listed in the Top 25 - or how sometimes the top-ranked team is a "unanimous" decision (i.e. every voting member gave 25 points to that team as their #1 selection).

NFCA's Director of Communications Brian Stanley and Director of Publications Dave Hines are the polling masters - they each coordinate two of the four NFCA-proctored polls - Division I & II are with Stanley and Division III & High School are with Hines. 

 Poll Call Dynamics

For those divisions that hold calls to discuss the Top 25 for the week, coaches within their respective regions will share which teams they believe should be ranked, where they should be ranked and why. Coaches will use both info provided by the NFCA and their own conference/division knowledge to educate and inform the group. Conversations ensue around strength of schedule, the prior weekend's performance, overall body of work, and more. For those teams that have gone head-to-head, the aforementioned factors become even more important in the conversation as the season goes on (i.e. "We beat that team! Why are they ranked higher than us?"). At the end of the day, only 25 teams can be placed in the Top 25 (obviously), and as you all know, those teams often shift within - and in and out of - the poll as the season progresses.

 The Published Poll

Once the Top 25 is decided on by the committees, the NFCA's work continues. Spreadsheets are double-checked and confirmed that no errors were made in the process (like a committee member accidentally ranking a team twice, or not placing the correct number of "votes" for the position number) and then a Top 25 is solidified.

From there, Stanley and Hines work to input the team names, rankings and votes into the NFCA's website, write a press release based on the highlights and any shifts in the rankings from the previous week, then work on a graphic to showcase the Top 10. These are all compiled, published on the NFCA's website and social media platforms, and then sent out to SIDs and publications in each respective division.

 NFCA Poll Archives

Nearly every single collegiate poll since 1995 is archived on the NFCA website (find your division, click "view poll," then scroll to the bottom of the page). Oftentimes media members and SIDs will reference the archives to see when a team was last ranked, or when a team fell out of the rankings, or when a team was NOT ranked for the first time in however many years. Worth repeating, polls are often used to create buzz and storylines within the sport, but are only part of the puzzle when it comes to championship seeding (where RPI, strength of schedule, head-to-head matchups and other factors take priority).

As an active NFCA member, it's often viewed as a privilege to be able to serve on the Top 25 Committee, along with any other NFCA Committee as well. Membership - along with service to the organization - is a large part of how softball has seen exponential growth in recent years. So the next time you see a Top 25 poll released (Hint: Tuesdays for collegiate divisions & Thursdays for high school), you can sip your coffee, search through a myriad of website updates and conference standings, and then rank your own Top 25 to see how your thoughts match up with those of the coaches. Happy polling!