I have been delving into the Collegiate baseball scene for quite some time and have made the decision to give the women’s softball some of my time. As I am not an expert, I am a strong follower of the game. Let’s jump in with the inaugural edition of College Softball Top 20. (4-15-24)
#1- Texas– The Longhorns out of the Big 12 conference are 35-6 and look to be the best team in college softball right now. They are second in NCAA softball batting average at .362. They are 19-2 at home in Easton Stadium. The team is led in batting by Ashton Maloney and hitting .453 in 39 games played. the home run leader is Reese Atwood with 13 bombs on the year. Teagan Kavan leads the Lady Longhorns in pitching with a 12-2 record along with a 1.81 ERA. Next up on the schedule is Kansas.
#2- Oklahoma- The Sooners are out of the Big 12 Conference and are 38- 4 on the season. They have two hurlers that are doing outstanding work as Karlie Keeney sports a 1.03 ERA and Kiersten Deal is at 1.02. The Sooners lost a game to BYU this past weekend and it was the only time they the Sooners had been outhit for the season.
#3- Stanford – The Cardinals are in the Pac-12 conference and are currently 34-7. They are lead in the pitching department by Nijaare Candady with a 0.48 ERA and Emily Jones is the top hitter with a .378 batting average. Ava Gall leads the Lady Cardinals in home runs and RBI’s. The next contest is a doubleheader with UC Davis on the road.
#4- Duke – The Blue Devils are 37- 4 on the season and 20-1 at home. They take on UNC Greensboro for a doubleheader on Wednesday and then face a Top 20 team in Virginia, all at Duke Softball Stadium. The Blue Devils are led by senior pitcher/outfielder Claire Davidson in batting with a .458 average. The pitching finds Jala Wright at 13-1 and a 1.27 ERA.
#5 – LSU– The Tigers are 33-8 on the year and the top team in the SEC. Pitcher Kelley Lynch pitched a no-hitter on Friday while also fanning eight batters in the Auburn line-up. They are 24-4 at home in Tiger Park. They face #11 Arkansas at home for a three game series this next weekend.
#6 – Georgia -Another team from the SEC, they are 33-10 on the year. Their defense is stable as they have the 14th fewest errors on the season with 25. Jayda Kearney leads the offense in several categories. She lead in batting average at .366 and 15 home runs with 36 RBI’s. Pitcher Madison Kerpics is the winningest pitcher on the roster at 11-2 with a 2.72 earned run average. They face Missouri at Turner Softball Field for a three game weekend series.
#7 – Alabama – At 30-9, they are the 3rd SEC in the Top 20. They face Arkansas in a three game series this weekend. Abby Duchscherer leads the Crimson Tide with 29 RBI’s and Lauren Johnson is the team leader in batting average at .329.
#8 – Missouri – The Tigers are another SEC team and are 33-11 overall this season but only 7-8 in the conference. Jenna Laird has the top batting average at ,371 with Alex Honnold right behind her at .355. She is also the home run and RBI leader for the Tigers. Cierra Harrison has a 2.02 ERA and a 12-2 record. She also has garnered 73 strikeouts. They play SIUE midweek and then travel to play the Georgia Bulldogs for three.
#9 – Tennessee– The Vols are now currently 32-7 overall. McKenna Gibson is batting .367 with 7 homers and 36 RBI’s. Kiki Milley is at ,353 on the year. Payton Gottshall is 15-3 as a starter with a 1.19 ERA along with Karlyn Pickens at 15-3 and a 1.19 ERA.
#10 – Texas A&M – They are 32-9. Head Coach Trisha Ford puts a formidable nine on the field and the Aggies are led by Jazmine Hill batting .389 and 24 runs batted in. Trinity Cannon leads the team with 10 home runs. Emily Kennedy has a 1.58 ERA and a 15-7 record. The Aggies face Ole Miss at home on Davis Diamond.
#11 – Arkansas – The Razorbacks are currently 30-11 on the season. They are in the SEC in the middle of the pack. They will face Alabama for three games at Bogie Park this weekend.
#12- Oklahoma State – The Cowgirls record is at 35-8 and they are in the Big 12 conference. The pitching staff is anchored by Lexi Kilfoyl with her 0.87 ERA. They take on Texas Tech for three at Cowgirl Stadium this coming weekend.
#13- Florida State –Their record sits at 31-10, This past weekend, they 10 run ruled the Notre Dame Irish for a win. They will face Boston College for three on the road this weekend. The Lady Seminoles have the 9th best team batting average at .342
#14- Auburn- This team has a 23-23 record and will face Kentucky at Jane B Moore Field for three game series. The Tigers are led in batting average by Anna Wohlers at ,333. Amelia Lech leads in RBI’s for the team with 30.
#15 – Louisiana- Out of the Sun Belt conference, the Ragin’ Cajun team are 29-14. They take on LSU in a midweek contest and then play Southern Miss for a series this coming weekend. Mihyla Davis is batting .409 to lead the team in average and Alexa Langeliers has 30 runs batted in.
#16 – UCLA – The Bruins are 24-9 on the year and will face #3 Stanford for a series this weekend. Maya Brady is leading the team with a .398 batting average. She also has ten home runs and 38 runs batted in. The pitching staff is anchored by Kaitlyn Terry with a 11-0 record in 12 games along with 7 complete games.
#17– Mississippi State – The Bulldogs are 29-12 on the year and are scheduled to face Southern Miss this weekend. Madisyn Kennedy leads the Bulldogs with a .380 batting average, home runs and RBI’s. Aspen Wesley has 11 wins and 2 saves as their leading hurler.
#18 – Florida – The Gators are 35-9 and from the SEC. They will host the South Carolina team for a three game series this weekend.
#19– Texas State -the Thundering Herd from the Sunbelt conference are 33-12. They just lost 2 of 3 from #14 Louisiana and now travel to ULM to take them on for three games.
#20 – Clemson -The Tigers are 28-24 and from the ACC. McKenzie Clark is batting .371 with 9 homers and 32 runs batted in. The team ERA is 2.26. Next up for Clemson is Notre Dame for three games on the road.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- Duke leads the nation with a 1.25 ERA and Tennessee is 2nd at 1,26
- Virginia Tech is 12-0 at home
- Jessica Clements from Cal Poly is leading the nation with a .510 batting average
- Alex Coleman from UNC is 2nd in batting average at .504
- Bradley University Sydney Kennedy leads the nation with 14 complete games