National College Softball Editor Justin McLeod’s “Mid-Major” Top 10 is here following Week 3 action – and some midweek action ahead of Week 4!
Charlotte continues their stranglehold on the top spot; their midweek win over Virginia Tech last Wednesday led into an undefeated weekend that saw the Niners record victories over Maryland, Villanova, and Boston College twice. The Niners also entered the Extra Inning Softball Top 25 poll for the second time this season on Tuesday, coming in at #18 in the nation.
Western Kentucky, another Conference USA program, vaulted up to #2 in this week’s rankings. The Hilltoppers are 16-3 on the season and reached the top two despite going 3-2 with a pair of losses to Ole Miss this weekend. The Hilltoppers move to #2 also sets up a #1 vs. #2 battle to open C-USA play this weekend, with WKU traveling to Charlotte for a 3-game set.
After entering the Top 10 last week, Weber State vaults all the way up to #3 in this week’s rankings. The Wildcats were 4-2 this week, with losses to UCLA and Cal State Fullerton and with wins over Seattle, Cal Baptist, Penn, and Texas A&M. Add the A&M and Seattle victories to earlier-season wins over Kansas and UNLV twice and the Wildcats are making a good show of the season’s early-goings.
Boise State dropped a pair of games this weekend for the first time all season, and the Broncos fall slightly to #4 in this week’s rankings. The losses, to Arizona and new Top 10 member Texas State, finished a weekend that also saw the Broncos record three wins, including a victory over Iowa State.
Still sporting just one loss after four weeks of play, USC Upstate continues their climb through the Top 10 and comes in at #5 in this week’s rankings. The Spartans were a perfect 5-0 once again this weekend and also earned head coach Chris Hawkins his 1,000th career win.
Making their first appearance of the year in the mid-major Top 10 is Texas State, coming in at #6 in this week’s rankings. Following a midweek win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the Bobcats were 4-1 during their trip to Arizona, recording wins over Boise State and Iowa State and narrowly losing to Arizona in an 11-10 battle.
Checking in at #7 in this week’s rankings are Top 10 stalwarts UNLV, who went 3-2 on the weekend with a loss to Washington and a two-game split against Houston. The Rebels swept two games from New Mexico State in their hosted tournament in Vegas.
Reaching the Top 10 for the first time this season, the North Alabama Lions are 18-3 on the year and riding a 7-game winning streak. A doubleheader sweep of Samford and a 5-0 record over the weekend highlight that streak for the Lions, who also have split season series’ with both Southern Miss and Austin Peay.
Delaware moves up one spot in this week’s rankings, to #9 overall. The Blue Hens were 4-1 on the weekend, dropping a single game to Illinois State and sweeping two-game sets with both SIUE and Florida Atlantic. Their season record includes splits with Purdue, Boston, and Bowling Green.
In the final spot in this week’s mid-major top 10 and making their first appearance of the season in the rankings is Southern Miss. After shocking Florida in Gainesville with an upset win in a midweek showdown, the Golden Eagles went a perfect 5-0 in Madeira Beach that included wins over Omaha and Central Michigan.
ALSO NOTE:
Loyola Marymount and Boston make their first appearances of the year in the graphic after both recorded quality wins this week to reach the .500 mark… Austin Peay, North Texas, and Tarleton all maintain their presences in the “almost there” category for the top 10, while Central Arkansas‘ weekend efforts also got them over the .500 threshold…. UNCW, South Dakota, and North Florida are three teams worth keeping an eye on… San Diego State fell out of the top 10 for the first time this season after a 2-4 weekend that included losses to Yale, Long Beach State, Boston, and BYU.
