Where Does Big 12 Softball Stand in the Latest Top 25?

admin
4 Min Read
Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady (24) throws a pitch during the game against Texas on day one of the Bevo Classic at Red and Charline McCombs field on Friday, February. 14, 2025 in Austin.

There are still so many questions to be answered just two weeks into the 2025 college softball season, but the action to this point has given us at least a few things to glean.

Texas is still the juggernaut that it proved to be last season, and despite losing the best senior class in history, Oklahoma is rife with talent and dangerous as always.

There’s a lot of new in the Big 12, but NiJaree Canady is still the best pitcher in softball, Oklahoma State still has the grit that’s become a staple under Kenny Gajewski, and Arizona still finds a way to have top-shelf talent in Tucson.

 

In this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, we see a true logjam of Big 12 teams, and a new top-ranked team from the conference.

Let’s take a look at the latest poll from Tuesday morning.

ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll (February 18, 2025)

RankTeamConference RecordPointsPrevious Ranking
1Texas (25)SEC11-06251
2OklahomaSEC10-05933
3FloridaSEC13-15632
4UCLABig Ten9-15354
5LSUSEC10-05137
6Texas A&MSEC10-14885
7TennesseeSEC10-14826
8Florida StateACC8-14719
9GeorgiaSEC9-039311
10ArkansasSEC10-036013
11ArizonaBig 1210-134515
12Texas TechBig 128-33428
13Oklahoma StateBig 125-433410
14DukeACC7-331614
15NebraskaBig Ten8-228617
16Mississippi StateSEC9-124019
17Virginia TechACC8-221518
18AuburnSEC11-0186RV
19OregonBig Ten10-116020
20StanfordACC9-013222
21AlabamaSEC5-511812
22MissouriSEC6-59916
23San Diego StateMountain West8-290
24South CarolinaSEC10-076RV
25LibertyConference USA8-344RV

Arizona (10-1) takes over as the top-ranked Big 12 team, rising four spots to No. 11 in the latest poll after winning all five contests last week.

Texas Tech (8-3) is down four spots from No. 8 to No. 12 after dropping two games last week, both of which were to No. 1 Texas. The first loss was a 2-1 decision in extra innings, while the second loss was more detrimental, an 11-0 rout in five innings.

Oklahoma State (5-4) dropped three spots to No. 13 in this week’s poll, but doesn’t have much to hang its head about. Nobody in the Big 12 has played a schedule like the Cowgirls, who’ve now played ranked teams in seven of their nine games. In the Clearwater Invitational this weekend, the Pokes went 3-2 and picked up ranked wins over Kentucky, Texas A&M, and Alabama, the last one courtesy of some late-game heroics.

Baylor (6-4) dropped out of the poll, but is the first team in receiving votes after suffering two run-rule losses to Oklahoma.

Share This Article