No. 2 in this week's MaxPreps Top 25 high school softball rankings, five-time defending Alabama state champion No. 2
Orange Beach started its season with a 10-2 win over
Northview (Bratt, Fla.) on Friday. The Makos have won a title every year that the school has had a team and have firepower to do it again this season.
After posting a 0.77 ERA as a freshman in 2025 for Orange Beach,
M.K. McMullan opened her sophomore season with a win in the circle and a bomb in the batter's box. SEC signees
Teagan Revette,
Katie King and
Ava Hodo along with sophomore
Jayde Palmer all had multiple hits in the Makos' opener.
No. 4
Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.) remained undefeated after winning six games last week, including five on Saturday and Sunday. Over that span freshman pitcher
Bailey Holderfield won three games while South Alabama pledge
Kadyn Bush went 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA. Bush, along with sophomores
Kelsey Burden and
Krimson Calhoun all hit over .500, combining for 33 hits in 59 at-bats over six games.
After starting the season 5-2, No. 8
Melissa (Texas) has rebounded to win seven in a row. Arizona commit
Eloisa Maes pitched five times last week and allowed just one earned run with 34 strikeouts over 24.2 innings of work. That one run allowed was against No. 12
Midway (Waco) in a win.
Melissa broke the national record with 122 home runs last season and already have 22 this season. Florida pledge
Kennedy Bradley leads the way with seven while Oklahoma commit
Finlee Williams has four.
In South Carolina, All-American
Aspen Boulware and No. 17
Gray Collegiate Academy (West Columbia) will travel to No. 21
Catawba Ridge (Fort Mill) as both begin their seasons today. Originally in the Class of 2027, Boulware reclassified to 2026 and has 52 career bombs.

Orange Beach senior Katie King has 107 career extra-base hits with a .528 batting average since arriving on varsity as a seventh grader in 2021. The Arkansas signee started her 2026 campaign with a double in the Makos season opener last week. (PHOTO: Holly Mapel)
MaxPreps Top 25 softball rankings
1. Norco (Calif.)
Record: 4-0 |
Last week: 1
Next: March 20 at Centennial
2. Orange Beach (Ala.)
Record: 1-0 |
Last week: 2
Scores: Def. Northview 10-2
Next: Today at Fairhope
3. Calvary Baptist Academy (Shreveport, La.)
Record: 12-0 |
Last week: 3
Scores: Def. Benton 12-2, def. Ouachita Parish 16-1, def. West Ouachita 11-1, def. Quitman 9-2, def. Caldwell Parish 15-3, def. Evangel Christian Academy 12-1
Next: Today at Parkway
4. Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.)
Record: 11-0 | Last week: 4
Scores: Def. Helena 8-7, def. Gulf Shores 6-4, def. Enterprise 5-4, def. Southside 11-5, def. Saraland 3-1, def. Houston Academy 3-0
Next: Today vs. Chilton County
5. Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas)
Record: 17-3 |
Last week: 5
Scores: Def. West Brook 21-1, def. No. 7 Lake Creek 10-2, def. Calallen 2-1, def. Clear Springs 4-0, def. No. 15 Kingwood 2-0, lost to Keller 8-6, def. Pearland 10-0
Next: Today at Sterling
6. Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas)
Record: 17-1 |
Last week: 7
Scores: Def. Montgomery 13-2, def. Summer Creek 2-1, lost to No. 5 Barbers Hill 10-2, def. Crosby 8-2, def. Angleton 2-1, def. Dripping Springs 5-3, def. Clear Springs 7-1
Next: Today vs. Huntsville
7. Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)
Record: 5-0 |
Last week: 8
Scores: Def. Fort Myers 11-0, def. Winter Springs 6-3, def. IMG Academy 3-1
Next: March 5 at Eustis
8. Melissa (Texas)
Record: 12-2 |
Last week: 9
Scores: Def. Birdville 3-0, def. Aledo 5-0, def. Abilene 5-3, def. Guyer 5-1, def. No. 12 Midway 5-1
Next: Today at Greenville
9. Doral Academy (Doral, Fla.)
Record: 3-0 |
Last week: 10
Scores: Def. West Broward 6-0
Next: March 4 vs. Cardinal Gibbons
10. Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Record: 5-0-1 |
Last week: 11
Scores: Def. Shadow Ridge 18-0, def. Pinnacle 13-3, def. Highland 15-4, tied Basha 2-2, def. Desert Ridge 10-4, def. Alhambra 19-0
Next: Today at Verrado
11. Midway (Waco, Texas)
Record: 13-3-1 |
Last week: 12
Scores: Def. Lovejoy 7-2, def. Byron Nelson 7-4, def. Wylie East 7-1, def. Birdville 4-2, lost to No. 9 Melissa 5-1
Next: Today vs. Harker Heights
12. Del Oro (Loomis, Calif.)
Record: 1-0 |
Last week: 13
Scores: Def. Woodcreek 11-0
Next: Today at Sheldon
13. Palo Verde (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Record: 1-0 |
Last week: 14
Scores: Def. Liberty 14-0
Next: March 4 at Centennial
14. Kingwood (Texas)
Record: 16-2 |
Last week: 15
Scores: Def. Keller 9-3, def. Ridge Point 9-3, def. Clear Springs 3-2, lost to No. 5 Barbers Hill 2-0, def. Crosby 11-0, def. Brazoswood 6-0
Next: Today at North Shore
15. Kenton Ridge (Springfield, Ohio)
Record: 0-0 |
Last week: 16
Next: Opens March 21 at Wheelersburg
16. Sam Houston (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 6-1 |
Last week: 18
Scores: Def. Southside 9-5, def. Kinder 15-0
Next: March 4 at Kaplan
17. Gray Collegiate Academy (West Columbia, S.C.)
Record: 0-0 |
Last week: 19
Next: Opens today at No. 21 Catawba Ridge
18. Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.)
Record: 0-0 |
Last week: 20
Next: Opens March 6 at Clarksburg
19. La Salle Academy (Providence, R.I.)
Record: 0-0 |
Last week: 21
Next: Opens March 31 vs. Smithfield
20. Pace (Fla.)
Record: 4-0 |
Last week: 22
Scores: Def. Northview 4-0, def. Gulf Breeze 1-0
Next: Today at Gulf Shores
21. Catawba Ridge (Fort Mill, S.C.)
Record: 0-0 |
Last week: 23
Next: Opens today vs. No. 17 Gray Collegiate Academy
22. Hernando (Miss.)
Record: 9-0 |
Last week: 24
Scores: Def. Lafayette 4-3, def. Petal 10-1, def. Sumrall 7-2, def. Pisgah 13-1
Next: Today at Tupelo
23. Xavier College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Record: 2-0 |
Last week: 25
Scores: Def. Horizon 2-1, def. Kofa 20-1
Next: March 5 vs. Basha
24. Bear River (Garland, Utah)
Record: 0-0 |
Last week: 26
Next: Opens March 6 at Mountain Ridge
25. Destiny Christian Academy (Sacramento, Calif.)
Record: 1-0 |
Last week: 27
Scores: Def. Sheldon 5-1
Next: March 10 at Pleasant Grove
Dropped out: No. 6
Katy (Texas), No. 17
Northwest Rankin (Brandon, Miss.)