Re-ranking the 16 teams to make the NCAA Softball Tournament Super Regionals
After the regional round has come and gone, the field is set for the super regionals, one of the best weekends in the college sports calendar. 16 teams will face off on campus sites across the country. Four teams knocked off host teams, highlighted by Liberty's upset of No. 1 Texas A&M.
It's a star-studded field with each of the National Player of the Year finalists, NiJaree Canady, Jordy Bahl, and Bri Ellis, leading their teams to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The field also includes winners of every Women's College World Series national title dating back to 2012. Additionally, every team that has made it to the final in the last five tournaments is still alive on super regional weekend.
With 16 teams still standing, here's how Sooners Wire ranks the field.
The Georgia Bulldogs earned an upset win, beating the host Duke twice to become regional champions. The Bulldogs are No. 88 in the nation in team batting average and No. 103 in team ERA. Despite the stats, they just get it done.
15. Liberty Flames
Liberty made history over the weekend, becoming the first team to knock off a No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament when they beat the Texas A&M Aggies. Liberty will have another tough matchup against Oregon, but when you beat No. 1, you get some love.
14. Oregon Ducks
Oregon might have won the regional but their pitching got lit up by Stanford. The Cardinal were one of the best hitting teams in the nation in 2025 and they took it to the Ducks. Next up, they'll take on a Liberty team that outscored the No. 1 overall seed. Oregon is top 10 in the nation in batting average and ERA.
13. Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels took two of three from the host Arizona Wildcats to emerge as regional champions. The Rebels received a huge performance from Aliyah Binford who had eight RBI over the weekend.
Alabama swept through the Tuscaloosa regional despite a couple of one-run games against the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Tide rank top 50 in the nation in both ERA and batting average. Can they repeat their performance from the regular season when they took two of three from the Sooners?
11. South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina allowed just two runs in the Columbia regional, outscoring their opponents 16-2. Sam Gress didn't allow a run over 8.2 innings pitched in South Carolina's final two games.
10. Clemson Tigers
The Clemson Tigers are No. 16 in the nation in team ERA and No. 26 in team batting average. They were tested in a 1-0 win over Northwestern in the regional semifinal, but had little trouble elsewhere to advance.
9. Texas Tech Red Raiders
If you have NiJaree Canady, you have a shot to go deep in the postseason. Canady is No. 2 in the nation in ERA and a finalist for national player of the year. Can the Red Raiders provide enough run support to make them a threat?
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers
Like Canady, Jordy Bahl gives the Cornhuskers a shot to make a deep run in the postseason. She was incredible in the regional round and has the experience in the NCAA Tournament to lead the Cornhuskers to Oklahoma City. Bahl is No. 5 in the nation in batting average, has 20 home runs and 20 wins on the season, and is No. 6 in the nation in ERA. She should be the national player of the year.
7. Florida State Seminoles
Florida State was pushed to an elimination game by the Auburn Tigers, but Ashton Danley and Jazzy Francik combined to shutout the Tigers in the decider to advance to a super regional matchup with Texas Tech.
6. UCLA Bruins
UCLA is in the top 10 in the nation in both batting average and ERA. They advanced through the Los Angeles regional with ease, outscoring opponents 31-2. Though just the nine seed in the tournament, the Bruins are a blue blood and deserve more respect.
5. Tennessee Volunteers
In any other season, Karlyn Pickens might be a finalist for Player of the Year, but that's just how good Canady and Bahl have been. But Pickens is every bit the pitcher, and Tennessee is good enough to go all the way. Just give her a bit of offense and watch her fire away.
4. Texas Longhorns
Texas is No. 2 in the nation in team batting average and No. 22 in the nation in team ERA. Is this the year the Longhorns win it all?
3. Florida Gators
Floria finished the regular season with a series win over Oklahoma. They built off that performance, mashing their way through the Gainesville regional, outscoring their opponents 30-6.
There wasn't a hotter team in the nation than the Arkansas Razorbacks, especially after they took a five-run lead over the Sooners in the SEC Tournament semifinals. Arkansas didn't let the letdown slow them down as Bri Ellis and the Razorbacks swept through the Fayetteville regional by outscoring their opponents 28-5 and the pitching staff threw two shutouts.
1. Oklahoma Sooners
Past performance has no bearing on future production, especially when Oklahoma turned over a huge part of the roster that won their fourth-straight national title last year. However, when you've won four straight titles and advanced to 15 consecutive super regional weekends, you get the benefit of the doubt until someone knocks you off. The queens stay the queens. They're relying on a young corps of players, but Gabbie Garcia and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas have proven up to the task in 2025.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Ranking the 25 best Oregon Ducks since 2000: No. 5 — Haloti Ngata
Over the last 25 years, the Oregon Ducks have been one of the single best teams in all of college football, sitting near the top of the sport for the better part of a quarter-century. Since 2000, Oregon has compiled an overall record of 239-83 (.742), with just two losing seasons during that span. They've been to 24 bowl games, won three Rose Bowls, been to a pair of College Football Playoffs, and appeared in two National Championships. They've seen a Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota and had 99 players selected in the NFL Draft. It's safe to say that when looking at the nation's best in this millennium, Oregon belongs in the conversation. But who are the players who helped get Nike University into that conversation? That's a different question entirely. To celebrate the quarter-century mark, we're going to dive into that question over the next month as we approach the start of the 2025 season. The Ducks have had hundreds of memorable and beloved players over the years, many of whom will live on forever in some way. But who is the best of the best? That answer, of course, is subjective. When reviewing the numbers and conducting our research, we took several factors into account: career statistics, overall impact and success, legacy, fan adoration, and NFL success. Boiling 25 years of Oregon football down to 25 players is no easy task, and not one that we took lightly. Dozens of players were left on the cutting room floor who deserve a spot in the top 25, and at some point, subtracting names off the list started to feel like pulling teeth. But in the end, we were left with 25 players, whom we will honor over the next few weeks. If you want to catch up, let's take a look at how we've gotten to where we're at in the rankings: Today, let's continue with No. 5 — the dominant force, Haloti Ngata. Player Overview Standing six-foot-five and 338 pounds, Haloti Ngata wasn't just the most physically imposing Duck during his tenure; he was perhaps the most physically imposing figure in all of college football. He completely dominated the line of scrimmage in three seasons of action at Oregon, racking up the individual accolades and leading his team to victory, especially in his final season. Ngata parlayed his success with the Ducks into an impressive NFL career, as he continued earning the top honors in the sport. Ngata made it look easy thanks to his size, athleticism and brute strength. He's one of the top interior defensive lineman to ever wear the green and yellow. Haloti Ngata Career Stats 101 tackles, 6 sacks, 24.5 TFL, seven blocked kicks Haloti Ngata Single Best Season 2005 — 61 tackles, 3 sacks, 9 TFL During his senior season in 2005, Ngata was a force to be reckoned with. No one team could seem to stop him, as he routinely bulled over blockers on his way to the ball. Ngata claimed the Morris Trophy (given to the nation's best interior defensive lineman) for his efforts as well as being named a consensus First-Team All-American, Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and Team MVP. The Ducks followed up a disappointing five-win campaign in 2004 by doubling their win title, going 10-2 under Hall of Fame head coach Mike Bellotti and with Ngata's reckless abandon style of play. Haloti Ngata NFL Draft Ngata was selected with the 12th overall pick in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens, where he'd spend a majority of his NFL career. Haloti Ngata NFL Success While Ngata was a beast at Oregon, he made an even bigger name for himself in the NFL. During his 13-year career, Ngata registered 517 total tackles, 32.5 sacks and 63 TFL. He spent nine seasons with the Ravens (winning Super Bowl XLVII), three seasons with the Detroit Lions and his final year with the Philadelphia Eagles. When it was all said and done, Ngata left the game in 2018 as one of the top interior defensive lineman of his generation, earning five Pro Bowl selections, two First-Team All-Pro honors and three-time Second-Team All-Pro honors. He has been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and could likely be inducted in the coming years. Haloti Ngata's Lasting Legacy Ngata left a lasting impact on the Oregon football program, as he was the first among a slew of defensive lineman in the 25 years since 2000. He was easily one of the most dominant Ducks on the field and was honored for it by being named to the Pac-12 "All-Century Team" and being inducted into Oregon's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016. Not only did Ngata excel in Eugene, but he took it to the highest level. Ngata continued to make the Oregon faithful proud long after his four-year tenure with the Ducks. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
USA Today
6 hours ago
- USA Today
CBS Sports: Wisconsin projected to have one of college basketball's top offenses in 2025
With roughly three months remaining until the 2025-26 college basketball regular season, the Wisconsin Badgers received high praise on Friday. In CBS Sports' recent article, titled '101 Days Out: College basketball stars, new faces, contenders, storylines ahead of 2025-26 season', analyst Isaac Trotter outlined several lookahead themes for the 2025-26 slate. Among those themes, Trotter looked at which programs roster the best projected offensive units. Wisconsin, which finished the 2024-25 season with a 27-10 mark and No. 3 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, was listed as one of the outlet's top 10 projected offensive programs this fall alongside the UConn Huskies, Purdue Boilermakers, Louisville Cardinals, Florida Gators, Kentucky Wildcats, Illinois Fighting Illini, BYU Cougars, Texas Tech Red Raiders and Duke Blue Devils. Here's what Trotter shared regarding the Badgers' offensive outlook this season: "The Badgers have three guards who can play on or off the ball in John Blackwell, Andrew Rohde and Nick Boyd, surrounding two sweet-shooting forwards (Austin Rapp and Nolan Winter). That's a dangerous combination offensively. Losing John Tonje stings, but Blackwell is the total package and has All-America upside as the go-to alpha." Yes, Wisconsin's roster is revamped with all sorts of talent, but projecting the program to recreate its 2024-25 offensive success is a difficult task. Wisconsin boasted KenPom's No. 13 offensive unit this past season, a threshold traditional Badger ensembles rarely reach. Backed by All-American wing John Tonje, who now a member of the NBA's Utah Jazz, UW averaged 80.1 points per game off 45.4% shooting from the field, 34.8% from 3-point range and 82.6% from the charity stripe. Notably, Gard's group finished with at least 80 points in 19 contests -- the most by any Badger bunch in years. UW now welcomes the aforementioned Rhode, Boyd and Rapp into its starting unit, three more-than-capable offensive contributors. In a loaded Big Ten, the starting unit shapes up well against almost any program. That lineup's first exhibition test is slated for Oct. 24 against the Oklahoma Sooners in Milwaukee. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
New York Post
12 hours ago
- New York Post
Sabrina Ionescu joins elite WNBA company in near game-saving Liberty performance
We've got you covered on the Liberty beat Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA. tRY IT NOW Sabrina Ionescu delivered a vintage performance when the Liberty desperately needed it. With many fans at Barclays Center donning the neon, construction-themed shirts distributed as part of a Ionescu giveaway, she delivered 30 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals for a Liberty group trying to adapt without an injured Breanna Stewart during their 101-99 loss to the Sparks on Saturday. Advertisement Ionescu became the fourth player in WNBA history to record that statline — joining Caitlin Clark, Candace Parker and Brandy Reed, according to the team. 'Just trying to play my game, and read when the defense gives me,' Ionescu said. 'Continue to find ways to facilitate and be the best that I can for this offense. Obviously, we were down players that normally score a lot for us, so trying to get some easy ones, finding the shot in the midrange, get to the basket, to the free-throw line. Just kind of do what I do every single night and find a way to try and win.' 3 New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) looks towards the referee in reaction to a no-call after scoring a basket during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Sparks at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Ionescu poured in 17 points during the first half, but Los Angeles contained her for the third quarter and the early portion of the fourth. Advertisement But that's when Ionescu took over, and she tied the game with just over two minutes left after converting an and-one. Then, she hit a pair of jumpers in the final minutes to help answer the Sparks, following up her 29-point performance against the Mercury on Friday with her third 30-point game of the season one night later. When the Liberty needed someone to help replace the production of Stewart down the stretch, Ionescu, along with Natasha Cloud (22 points) converted in key spots. Advertisement 3 Sabrina Ionescu (20) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Sparks guard Kelsey Plum (10) during the first half. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post But after the Liberty couldn't get a stop on the final possession, Ionescu, who entered the night averaging a career-high 18.9 points per game and made a fourth consecutive All-Star Game, never got another chance to ensure her dominant night ended with a victory. Kennedy Burke only played 6:08 and was ruled out with cramping, head coach Sandy Brondello said. Leonie Fiebich, who finished with 10 points, had her hand wrapped after injuring it Friday. Advertisement 3 New York Liberty's Kennedy Burke (22) defends Phoenix Mercury's Kahleah Copper (2) during the first half of a game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Friday, July 25, 2025. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post With her block, Jonquel Jones moved into seventh place on the Liberty's all-time blocks list with 114, passing Janel McCarville. Stephanie Talbot, signed by the Liberty this week after getting waived by the Valkyries, logged 17 minutes — her most since arriving in Brooklyn — and was on the court during the final moments of the game. She went 0-for-2 from the field and collected four rebounds. 'It's hard for her,' Brondello said. 'She's hardly practiced.'
