College Softball Rankings: ESPN, USA Softball update Top 25 after Week 3

It was another fun week of softball across the country. In a weekend full of multi-team events across the nation, we saw some upsets and surprises. And we now have changes in ESPN/USA Softball’s updated Top 25 rankings after Week 3.

Last week, we saw a change at the top with Tennessee moving into the No. 1 spot. While we don’t see a change up top this week, there’s still a decent bit of movement throughout the Top 25.

A lot of these events around the country have featured multiple ranked teams, allowing teams to begin separating from the rest of the pack. So while it’s still early, we’ve already learned a lot about this year’s top teams.

Now it’s time to turn the page into Week 4. Here’s how ESPN/USA Softball’s Top 25 rankings have changed entering the new week.

1. Tennessee

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 14-0

Tennessee is still on a roll, exiting Week 3 undefeated. The Volunteers were in Birmingham this weekend for the Green & Gold Classic, and again dominated their way through. They beat Missouri State 5-0 and UAB 6-1 on Friday, before beating Mercer 17-0 on Saturday and Southern Illinois 9-0 on Sunday. 37-1 total weekend score? That’ll do.

2. Texas Tech

Previous Ranking: No. 2
Weekly Record: 5-1
Overall Record: 16-1

Texas Tech was in Cathedral City, California, this week, playing in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Red Raiders started play on Thursday, beating Fresno State 12-2 before falling to Team Japan 1-0 in a loss that won’t count against their overall record. The rest of the weekend, the Red Raiders beat Bethune-Cookman 8-0 on Friday, Cal State Fullerton 6-3 and San Diego State 5-0 on Saturday, and UC Riverside 16-0 on Sunday.

3. Texas

Previous Ranking: No. 3
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 14-1

Texas kept rolling this week at the DeMarini Invitational in Stanford, California, continuing to round out the top three in this week’s softball Top 25. The Longhorns started the weekend with a pair of ranked wins on Friday, 12-2 against No. 16 Arizona and 4-3 against No. 10 Stanford. They then defeated Boise State 10-0 and Santa Clara 10-2 on Saturday. In Sunday’s finale, Texas finished the sweep with another win over Arizona, this time 12-2.

4. Nebraska

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (+2)
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 11-4

Nebraska suffered a couple of losses in each of the first two weeks, but that wasn’t the case in Week 3. They were in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic and swept their way through the weekend. The Cornhuskers beat No. 22 South Carolina 9-1 and Hawaii 13-0 on Friday. They then beat No. 13 Texas A&M 8-2 on Saturday, and Seattle University 9-0 and California 6-0 on Sunday.

5. Oklahoma

Previous Ranking: No. 4 (-1)
Weekly Record: 5-1
Overall Record: 13-2

Oklahoma was also in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City this weekend, going 5-1 in an impressive showing. The Sooners started off with three wins, 6-5 against Cal State Fullerton and 10-2 against San Diego State on Thursday, before beating No. T14 Duke 11-1 on Friday. The Sooners fell 6-4 against Long Beach State on Saturday, but responded to beat California 7-5 and No. 23 Washington 15-2 to round out the weekend.

6. Florida

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (-1)
Weekly Record: 7-0
Overall Record: 19-0

It was a busy week for Florida, with seven games in as many days. The first two came against North Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday, winning 7-3 and 10-0. They then hosted the Florida Tournament, sweeping their way through against Longwood (10-0, 12-4 wins), Middle Tennessee (8-0, 7-0), and Lindenwood (8-0).

7. Alabama

Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+2)
Weekly Record: 4-0
Overall Record: 13-0

Alabama made quite the statement this weekend in the Dugout Classic, moving up in this week’s softball Top 25 as a result. They started with a 7-0 win vs. Elon on Friday before later defeating No. 7 Florida State 8-0. The Crimson Tide then beat FSU again on Saturday, 5-1, before their next game against Elon was canceled. On Sunday, Alabama rounded out the weekend with a 3-2 win over Dartmouth.

8. Arkansas

Previous Ranking: No. 8
Weekly Record: 5-0
Overall Record: 13-1

Arkansas was at home this week, hosting the Razorback Invitational. They left the weekend a perfect 5-0. The Razorbacks defeated SEMO two times, 6-0 on Friday and 16-2 on Saturday. They also picked up three wins over Northwestern, 6-0 on Friday, 7-0 on Saturday and 9-8 on Sunday.

9. UCLA

Previous Ranking: No. 11 (+2)
Weekly Record: 6-0
Overall Record: 13-3

Another team in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, UCLA enjoyed a spotless week. They beat Auburn 23-1 on Thursday before playing two on Friday, a 6-5 win against Nevada and a 10-5 win against No. T14 Duke. The wins didn’t stop there, beating Fresno State 11-0 and No. 22 South Carolina 5-4 on Saturday and No. 13 Texas A&M 15-7 on Sunday. The Bruins move into the top ten in this week’s softball Top 25.

10. Florida State

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (-3)
Weekly Record: 4-2
Overall Record: 12-4

After an 8-0 midweek win over Louisiana on Tuesday, Florida State hosted the Dugout Classic in Tallahassee over the weekend. There, they picked up wins over Dartmouth (10-2 on Friday and 8-0 on Saturday) and Elon (9-1 on Sunday). The Seminoles also faced No. 9 Alabama twice, losing both contests. The first was an 8-0 score on Friday, in addition to 5-1 on Saturday. After the two losses to Alabama, FSU moves down in this week’s softball top 25.

ESPN, USA Softball Top 25 Rankings: 11-25

11. Georgia (+1)
12. Virginia Tech (+8)
13. Stanford (-3)
14. Arizona (+2)
15. Texas A&M (-2)
16. Oklahoma State (+3)
T-17. LSU
T-17. Oregon (-3)
19. Mississippi State (-1)
20. Duke (-6)
21. Virginia (+4)
22. South Carolina
23. Arizona State (-2)
24. Washington (-1)
25. Grand Canyon (NR)

Dropped out of ESPN/USA Softball Top 25: Clemson

Others receiving votes: Clemson (46), UCF (21), Auburn (20), Penn State (16), Belmont (8), Michigan (5), Kentucky (3), Charlotte (2), Florida Atlantic (2), North Carolina (2), Ohio State (2), LMU (1)