RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
The nightmare scenario for the high school softball season in 2020 from throughout the country ran its course over the month of April. State after state at different times came to the inevitable conclusion that spring sports for the 2019-20 school year would all have to be canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
With thoughts of all the seniors who are missing so many great memories that just about every previous graduating class other than perhaps when the world wasn’t at war got to enjoy, it was decided to put together one final installment of the Extra Elite Eighty national rankings.
There already had been scheduled for a ranking to be done during the week when most schools in the nation had their softball seasons suspended as the virus began to spread. That ranking was done, however, with the likelihood that there would be at least one more to go — whether the suspensions became cancellations or not.
For the final rankings, Lakewood Ranch of Florida remains in the No. 1 position, despite the Mustangs not winning a major national tournament like No. 2 Los Alamitos (California). Dropping a team for that reason a month after the last game was played, however, would be certifiably insane and wasn’t done.
Should Lakewood Ranch therefore claim it is the “national champion” for ending No. 1 in the nation in a suspended season like this one? No, that would be nuts, too. And it’s disrespectful of playoffs that never happened and upsets that may have happened. It is what it is: a final No. 1 ranking based on a limited number of games played.
Click HERE to read the article Lakewood Ranch Loses Chance for State Championship… But Still Ends Up #1 in the Nation
An even more difficult dilemma for the final rankings was what to do about all of those teams that never even got to play a single game this season.
Can a team legitimately be ranked when there are no results to consider, only players on a roster or titles won from the previous season? We did rankings including all the 0-0 teams and then did them with all of them taken out, using a three-game minimum, and decided to go with the ones with them gone. At the same time, a separate list of those 0-0 teams also was compiled. Those teams certainly deserve to be recognized.
Some teams for the final rankings also were adjusted based on the following reasons:
- Strength of schedule (upcoming games against a key opponent not being played)
- State rankings consensus (looked closer at various rankings within each state)
- Missing scores that were missed (some not reported, some just weren’t seen during that one crazy week when everything was shutting down)
With all of that said, below are this year’s final rankings.
— Mark Tennis
*****
Final 2020 Extra Elite Eighty High School Softball Rankings
(After all games played 2020 season)
(At least three reported games for all teams)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
1. (1) Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton, Fla.) 8-0
2. (2) Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos, Calif.) 10-0
3. (3) Norco (Norco, Calif.) 11-1
4. (4) Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.) 4-0
5. (5) Park Vista (Lake Worth, Fla.) 11-0
6. (11) Spain Park (Hoover, Ala.) 21-0
7. (7) Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta, Calif.) 10-1
8. (12) Cooper City (Cooper City, Fla.) 7-0
9. (18) Oak Ridge (Conroe, Texas) 21-1
10. (6) Trenton (Trenton, Fla.) 10-0
*** Scroll down to see the rest of the Top 50, 0-0 Teams That Never Played This Season That Were Previously in the Rankings plus Honorable Mention Teams That Played & Those Who Didn’t..