New NCAA softball top 25 rankings entering regular season's final week

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Week 12 of the 2026 NCAA softball season wrapped up with a modest upset of sorts in the SEC on Monday night.

The Alabama Crimson Tide (44-6, 16-5) suffered a series of firsts with a 4-1 loss to the Tennessee Lady Vols at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville. For coach Patrick Murphy's team, it marked the first time Alabama had dropped a series in SEC play this season.

Sunday's 2-0 loss to the Lady Vols and pitcher Sage Mardjetko marked the first time the Crimson Tide had been shut out in a game this season. Monday marked the first time in 2026 that saw Alabama drop back-to-back games, and the first time the Tide had fallen two games behind in the SEC standings.

With the Oklahoma Sooners completing a three-game sweep of the Georgia Bulldogs over the weekend, it's coach Patty Gasso's team that has the inside track to the SEC regular-season crown with just one weekend series left. The 2026 SEC Tournament begins May 2 in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Sooners (46-6, 18-3) have a two-game lead over both Alabama and the Florida Gators (45-7, 16-5) in the conference standings. Oklahoma will face Texas A&M (35-14, 15-6) in College Station beginning Thursday.

Alabama will look to close the regular season strong when it faces South Carolina (29-22, 7-14) at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa starting Thursday. Florida finishes up the regular season with a trip to Athens to face Georgia (34-16, 10-11).

Here's a look at where Alabama sits in this week's NCAA softball top 25 polls and national outlet rankings with one series remaining ahead of the conference tournament.


Alabama softball vs Tennessee today: live updates, score, highlights

Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel, Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images https://t.co/OV8mctvVLEpic.twitter.com/742rmwF0IZ

— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) April 27, 2026

Alabama jumped by new team in NCAA Softball Coaches Poll​


In Tuesday's new NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma remained No. 1 for the third consecutive week. Texas Tech held at No. 2 while the Nebraska Cornhuskers jumped Alabama within the top five, moving up one spot to No. 3. The Crimson Tide fell one spot to No. 4.

A new team joined the top five in the Coaches Poll: the UCLA Bruins, who rose one spot past Florida.

The Coaches Poll again features six SEC schools in the top 10 in Tuesday's rankings. The SEC continues to lead the way with 10 ranked teams overall in the top 25.

Here's a look at the full NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll rankings as of April 28.

RankTeamRecordPointsPrevious
1Oklahoma (25)46-67661
2Texas Tech (4)47-47432
3Nebraska (2)40-67024
4Alabama44-56903
5UCLA44-56906
6Florida45-76205
7Texas38-85797
8Tennessee39-85548
9Florida State43-753110
10Arkansas39-95049
11Oregon38-1042012
12Duke38-1340514
13Virginia Tech41-939813
14Texas A&M35-1437511
15Stanford34-1234516
16Oklahoma State34-1218
17Georgia34-1627515
18Mississippi State36-1524917
19Arizona34-1323919
20LSU33-1616820
21Grand Canyon45-712221
22UCF36-14-110722
23Virginia36-128723
24Louisville41-1067
25Arizona State35-164724

Others receiving votes:​


Washington (24), Clemson (21), South Carolina (21), Southeastern Louisiana (18), Belmont (12), Omaha (10), Kansas (1)

Dropped out:​


No. 25 Washington

Unanimous No. 1 in NCAA Softball top 25 polls, rankings entering stretch run​


Oklahoma took the top spot in both Softball America's new top 25 rankings this week, as well as D1Softball's top 25 and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll. With Tuesday's Coaches Poll, it gives the Sooners a sweep in all the major softball polls and national rankings entering Week 13.

Alabama fell one spot to No. 3 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, as well as Monday's rankings from Softball America. The Crimson Tide dropped two spots to No. 4 in D1Softball's top 25 rankings.

Alabama softball schedule 2026​



3 takeaways from Alabama's road series loss vs. Tennessee

Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel, Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images https://t.co/Ss90RKullDpic.twitter.com/WsZgOuvD1x

— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) April 28, 2026

Alabama will face the South Carolina Gamecocks at Rhoads Stadium beginning Thursday. First pitch for Alabama-South Carolina in the series opener is 6 p.m. CT. All three games can be seen on SEC Network+.

Here's a look at Alabama's 2026 SEC softball schedule with final scores and scheduled start times. All times Central.

  • March 6-8: at Ole Miss (W, 5-3; W, 13-2; W, 2-1)
  • March 13-15: vs. Arkansas (W, 4-1; L, 14-9; W, 4-1)
  • March 20-22: at Missouri (W, 2-1; L, 5-2; W, 7-4)
  • April 2-4: vs. Texas (L, 9-1; W, 11-4; W, 7-4)
  • April 10-12: at Auburn (W, 1-0; W, 4-0; W, 9-1)
  • April 17-19: vs. Kentucky (W, 9-0, W, 5-4; W, 4-0)
  • April 25-27: at Tennessee (W, 12-0; L, 2-0; L, 4-1)
  • April 30-May 2: vs. South Carolina (6 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Sunday)
  • May 5-9: SEC Tournament (Lexington, Kentucky)

Record: 44-6 overall, 16-5 SEC.

Follow us at @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook, for ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: NCAA softball top 25 rankings revealed entering regular season finale


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