Justin’s College Softball “Mid-Major” Top 10 for Week 13

National College Softball Editor Justin McLeod’s “Mid-Major” Top 10 is here following Week 13 action. This is the final Top 10 of the regular season and the last ranking until the 2022 season ends.

Loyola Marymount moves to #1 in the final rankings of the regular season, as the Lions remain in control of the West Coast Conference standings. The Lions control their own destiny for an NCAA tournament berth via the conference’s automatic bid.

Despite losing the regular-season finale to Stetson, Liberty holds onto the #2 spot in this week’s rankings. The Flames lost just once, in that finale, during ASun regular-season play and are the top seed and heavy favorites in the ASun tournament.

San Diego State falls to #3 in this week’s rankings; the Aztecs’ stellar season has had a lot of ups and some serious downs. The Aztecs dropped a game in their series against Utah State last weekend and are second in their conference in the national RPI, but are still atop the league standings.

After getting rained out of their regular-season final series against Portland State, Weber State stays at #4 in this week’s rankings. WSU has had a stellar season, holds a quality RPI, and are the favorites entering the Big Sky tournament.

Western Kentucky leads a still-hearty Conference USA contingent; the CUSA East champions earned the third overall seed in the conference tournament but finished their regular season with a 3-game sweep over Middle Tennessee.

UNC Greensboro dropped the middle game of a championship-deciding SoCon series against Samford, but won the series and the league regular-season title. The hard-hitting UNCG offense has raised eyebrows and caught a lot of attention for their efforts this season.

South Dakota State, the Summit League champions, have had a quieter campaign than last season’s breakout year, but the Jackrabbits remain a premier mid-major team and are dangerous in the postseason. They’re the top seed in the Summit League tournament, as well as the hosts for the event.

C-USA champions Louisiana Tech move up to #8 in this week’s rankings, as the Lady Techsters completed their magical run in conference play by earning the regular-season league title. The Lady Techsters swept a regular-season-ending series over Southern Miss.

Holding the nation’s longest active winning streak, Texas State checks in at #9 in this week’s rankings. The Bobcats are on a hot streak and take that streak into the Sun Belt tournament, where they are the #3 seed in Mobile.

Rounding out the top 10 for the regular season is Central Arkansas; the Bears have some big non-conference wins that date back to the early part of the year and made a run to the #2-overall seed in the ASun tournament.

ALSO NOTE:

A plethora of conference champions check into the Notable section of this week’s ranking, including OVC champs Murray State and Missouri Valley champions Northern Iowa… Conference USA and the Mountain West both contribute a number of teams, continuing a season-long trend… USC Upstate won the #1 overall seed in the Big South tournament and shared the three-way regular-season title in the league… George Washington, UConn, Delaware, and Grand Canyon all earned conference championships in their respective leagues.