The 2022 high school softball season is nearly complete, but a pair of teams have already established themselves as the best in the nation. The question now is where do they rank among the all-time greatest softball teams in history?
Roncalli (Indianapolis) ended its season undefeated (33-0) with a second straight Indiana state championship and a wire-to-wire No. 1 ranking by MaxPreps.
Lake Creek (Montgomery), meanwhile, finished 41-0 with a Texas Class 5A state championship and a No. 2 ranking in the MaxPreps Top 25.
Both teams have found a place in our list of the top 25 greatest softball teams of all-time. The list is heavy with teams from Florida, California and Texas and they feature some of the greatest pitchers in the sport's history.
While Title IX is celebrating its 50th year, fastpitch softball, at the national level, has a much younger lifespan. Texas did not hold state championships until the early 1990s while Florida began in the 1980s. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and USA Today didn't collaborate on national rankings until the mid-1990s and MaxPreps began doing national rankings in 2010.
Sources for the MaxPreps Top 25 greatest softball teams list include the MaxPreps computer rankings and MaxPreps Top 25 rankings, the USA Today/NFCA rankings, state association playoff archives and the
Cal-Hi Sports Record Book and Almanac.
Only spring season teams were considered for the list.
The Woodlands bowled over just about everybody en route to 44 wins and a state title in 2011.
Photo: Jim Redman
1. Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City, Texas), 2004
Record: 39-0
Top pitcher: Ragan Blake, 31-0, 0.08 ERA
Resume:
Elkins began the season No. 1 in the USA Today/National Fastpitch
Coaches Association (NFCA) rankings and never left the top spot. Along
the way, Elkins defeated No. 3 Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.), No. 8
LaPorte (Ind.), No. 11 Tomball (Texas), then-No.2 Flowing Wells and a
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) team that reached as high as No. 4 in the
national rankings. The Tomball win came in the Texas Class 5A state
championship game. Of the 39 wins, 32 were by shutout.
2. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 2009
Record: 32-0
Top pitcher: Keilani Ricketts, 22-0, 0.10 ERA, 347 Ks, 146 IP, .465, 9 home runs
Resume:
The Monarchs finished the season ranked No. 1 in several different
polls and outscored opponents 191-8 while winning the Central Coast
Section championship over Presentation (San Jose), 3-0. Ricketts earned
national player of the year honors from ESPN Rise before heading on to
an All-American career at Oklahoma.
3. Brazoswood (Clute, Texas), 2000
Record: 37-0
Top pitcher: Nicole Neuerberg, 33-0, 410 strikeouts, 0.00 ERA
Resume:
The Buccaneers needed 15 innings to down Bryan for the Class 5A
championship, but they finished undefeated on the season with the win
and ranked No. 1 by USA Today and the NFCA. Neuerberg was named national
player of the year by SchoolSports.com (ESPN).
4. Valencia (Placentia, Calif.), 2007
Record: 32-1
Top pitcher: Jordan Taylor, 32-0, 24 shutouts, four no-hitters, 0.19 ERA and 406 strikeouts in 216 innings
Resume:
The Vikings defeated No. 1 Canyon del Oro at the Arizona Tournament of
Champions and held on to the top spot in the USA Today/NFCA national
rankings the remainder of the season. Taylor earned national player of
the year honors and went on to become an All-American pitcher at
Michigan.
5. Righetti (Santa Maria, Calif.), 1980
Record: 29-0
Top pitcher:
Tracy Compton, 13-0, 10 shutouts, 0.00 ERA, 181 Ks, 91 innings pitched;
Kandy Foust, 16-0, 11 shutouts, six no-hitters, 0.22 ERA, 181
strikeouts, 112 innings pitched
Resume: The first softball powerhouse in California featured not one, but two of the best pitchers in the country in Tracy Compton and Kandy Foust. The duo combined to set multiple section records at the time and lead Righetti to four straight Southern Section championships between 1979 and 1982. Compton was Southern Section player of the year in 1979 and 1980. She shared the award with Foust in 1981 and Foust was the winner in 1982.
6. Roncalli (Indianapolis, Ind.), 2022
Record: 33-0
Top pitcher: Keagan Rothrock, 24-0, 382 strikeouts, 19 shutouts
Resume: The No. 1 team in the nation ahead of an extremely talented Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas) team, Roncalli began the year ranked No. 1 by MaxPreps and never fell from the top position. Rothrock led Roncalli to 46 consecutive wins over the 2021 and 2022 seasons and is the leading candidate for national player of the year honors. By the accounting of coach Rob Brown, Roncalli set over 30 program, state and state championship game records during the season. Roncalli begins the 2023 season just one win away from tying the state record of 47 consecutive wins.
7. The Woodlands (Texas), 2011
Record: 44-1
Top pitcher: Paige McDuffee, 37-1, 0.97 ERA, 21 shutouts, 244 strikeouts, 216 innings pitched
Resume: The Highlanders won 41 games in a row to start the season before winning two out of three games against Tomball in the regional finals. The Woodlands won the next two games at the state tournament and earned the No. 1 ranking in the MaxPreps Top 25. MaxPreps also selected Paige McDuffee as the national player of the year.
8. Bullard (Fresno, Calif.), 2001
Record: 36-1
Top pitcher: Marissa Marzan, 25-1, 0.07 ERA, 389 strikeouts, 204 innings pitched, 23 shutouts, 12 no-hitters, seven perfect games
Resume: The Knights dominated at the national level at the turn of the century, winning a mythical national championship from USA Today/NFCA in 1999 and doing it again in 2001. The only loss came against Mt. Whitney on an international tiebreaker rule. The Fresno area was loaded with talented teams at the time with Buchanan, Clovis and Golden West all ranked among the top eight teams in Northern California by Cal-Hi Sports for the season. Marzan also earned state player of the year honors from Cal-Hi Sports.
9. Ocean View (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 1985
Record: 32-0
Top pitcher: Jackie Oakley, 31-0, 0.15 ERA
Resume: The Seahawks won 28 games by shutout in 1985, all of them by Oakley to set a Southern Section record. Just a junior, Oakley earned USA Today Female Athlete of the Year honors and was the Southern Section player of the year. Ocean View was a bit of a shooting star as it didn't make the playoffs in 1984, won a national championship in 1985, and then didn't make the playoffs in 1986.
10. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 1990
Record: 36-0
Top pitcher: Candice Carnahan, 36-0, two earned runs. Part of a 107-game win streak
Resume: The Buccaneers won three straight state championships and 78 games in a row with Carnahan in the circle. As a junior, she went 36-0 in winning all of Barbe's games. She allowed just two earned runs all season.
11. Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.), 1997
Record: 37-1-1
Top pitcher: Amanda Freed, 20-0, 263 strikeouts, 154 innings pitched
Resume: A medium-sized school powerhouse in the Southern Section since the 1990s, Pacifica won three straight Southern Section Division III championships from 1997 to 1999, including a national championship season in 1997 behind the pitching of Freed. A junior in 1997, Freed threw nine no-hitters and five perfect games on the season, including a no-hitter in the Southern Section championship game. Her four postseason games in 1997 were a perfect game, a one-hitter, a perfect game in the semifinals and then the no-hitter in the finals against St. Lucy's.
12. Palm Harbor University (Palm Harbor, Fla.), 2005
Record: 31-0
Top pitcher: Dani Hofer, 25-0, 403 strikeouts, 0.08 ERA, 23 shutouts, 7 perfect games, 168 innings pitched
Resume: While USA Today picked two-loss Keller (Texas) as the top team in the country, Student Sports went with Palm Harbor University, and rightfully so. Behind Hofer, the Hurricanes won the second of back-to-back state titles.
13. Lincoln (Stockton, Calif.), 1987
Record: 30-0
Top pitcher: Kim Regpala, 20-0, 201 strikeouts, 0.14 ERA, 124 innings pitched
Resume: The only undefeated team in California, according to Cal-Hi Sports, the Trojans were tabbed as state champions in the Golden State. Regpala earned state player of the year honors and led Lincoln to Sac-Joaquin Section championships in 1984 and 1985 as well.
14. Saint Joseph (Lakewood, Calif.), 1989
Record: 26-1
Top pitcher: Lisa Fernandez, 21 shutouts, 11 no-hitters, 5 perfect games, 467 strikeouts
Resume: Led by arguably the greatest high school softball player of all-time in Fernandez, St. Joseph won its only Southern Section championship during her tenure as a player. Fernandez went on to win multiple Olympic gold medals and was a four-time NCAA All-American.
15. Gibbs (Corryton, Tenn.), 1987
Record: 33-0
Top pitcher: Carol Zachary, 27-0 (69 wins in a row)
Resume: Gibbs was a powerhouse in Tennessee, winning four state championships and 62 straight games by the end of the 1987 season. Carol Zachary had an even longer winning streak than her team as she put together 69 straight wins after finishing 27-0 in 1987.
16. Cactus (Glendale, Ariz.), 2004
Record: 38-0
Top pitcher: Katie Holverson, 37-0, 0.31 ERA, 326 strikeouts, 223.2 innings pitched
Resume: If not for Fort Bend Elkins, Cactus would have been the easy choice for mythical national champions in 2004. Sophomore pitcher Katie Holverson led the defense with 37 of the team's 38 wins. Sophomore Stacie Chambers led the offense with 20 home runs.
17. Dobie (Houston, Texas), 1995
Record: 33-0
Top pitcher: Christa Williams, 27-0, no-hitter in semifinal win, perfect game in championship
Resume: Texas did not hold state championships in fastpitch softball until 1993 and Dobie was the state's first perennial champion with titles in 1993, 1995 and 1997. Christa Williams, the Class 5A player of the year, led Dobie to the 1995 state championship with a 27-0 record that included a no-hitter in the semifinals and a perfect game in the championship. Williams went on to be a three-time NCAA All-American and a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
18. Bartow (Fla.), 2003
Record: 31-0-1
Top pitcher: Lindsay Littlejohn (sophomore), 21-0, 0.16 ERA
Resume: The Yellowjackets won six state championships during the 2000s, including five in a row from 2002 to 2006. The undefeated 2003 team was ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today.
19. Northern (Owings, Md.), 2013
Record: 23-0
Top pitcher: Jess Cummings, 22-0, 21 shutouts, 0.00 ERA, 298 strikeouts, 135 innings pitched
Resume: Behind the pitching of Cummings, the state player of the year, Northern won 76 straight games over a three-year period. The 2013 team finished the year ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps. The Patriots outscored opponents 201-1 on the season.
20. Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 2014
Record: 27-0
Top pitcher: Johanna Grauer, 26-0, 0.51 ERA, 290 strikeouts, 14 shutouts
Resume:
While Cal-Hi Sports chose Mater Dei as the top team in the state in
2014, MaxPreps went with Amador Valley as the No. 1 team in the nation.
Grauer also earned national player of the year honors.
21. Mission Viejo (Calif.), 2014
Record: 26-1
Top pitcher: Taylor McQuillin, 31-1, 0.21 ERA, 374 strikeouts (as a senior in 2015)
Resume:
The Diablos had a nine-inning 1-0 loss to Pacifica (Garden Grove), a
team it had defeated earlier in the season, as the only blemish on their
record. Mission Viejo was ranked No. 1 in the nation by Cal-Hi Sports and No. 2 by MaxPreps.
22. Naples (Fla.), 1991
Record: 29-1
Top pitcher: Jean Bonnici (freshman), 16-1, two earned runs, 95 innings pitched
Resume: No school has won more state softball championships in Florida than Naples with 10. The Golden Eagles won three in a row over the course of the late 1980s/early 1990s culminating in the 1991 season.
23. Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas), 2022
Record: 41-0
Top pitcher: Ava Brown, 30-0, 335 strikeouts, 0.46 ERA, 183 innings pitched
Resume: A year from now, Lake Creek might be a lot higher on this list. That's because the Lions lose only three seniors from a team that went undefeated in just its third year of existence. Brown, the team's top pitcher, returns next year for a Lake Creek team that likely begins the 2023 season ranked No. 1 in the nation.
24. Los Alamitos (Calif.), 2017
Record: 28-3
Top pitcher: Ryan Denhart, 25 wins, 0.94 ERA
Resume: Ranked No. 2 in the nation heading into the Southern Section championship game, Los Alamitos knocked off the No. 1 team, Norco, to finish the season ranked No. 1 by MaxPreps and USA Today.
25. Norco (Calif.), 2017
Record: 33-1
Top pitcher: Taylor Dockins, 33-1, 186 strikeouts, 15 shutouts
Resume: Although Norco had defeated Los Alamitos early in the season, the Cougars fell from their national No. 1 ranking following the loss to Los Alamitos. Despite the loss, Dockins still earned MaxPreps National Player of the Year honors.
