Orange Beach of Alabama headlines 2025 Preseason MaxPreps Top 25 high school softball rankings

The state of Texas features five MaxPreps Top 25 teams with Melissa checking in at No. 2. The Tigers won 15 in a row to close 2024 en route to the Class 5A state title. Texas signee Caigan Crabtree, Michigan State commit Alex Starr, Florida pledge Kennedy Bradley and one of the top Class of 2027 players in Hutton Adrian, to name a few, return in 2025.

Florida's top team heading into the season will be Montverde Academy (Montverde). The defending 3A state champs return a majority of their lineup for including Florida State commit Danika Spinogatti and Georgia commit Luna Taboas. Ole Miss pledge Nevaeh Williams will be back in the circle for the Eagles.

The Golden State's early favorite is Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) in Northern California. The Trojans are headlined by two elite junior catchers and hitters in LSU commit Sam Alekman and Washington commit Brooklyn Paratore. In the circle, Santa Clara commit Ellison Schroeder and sophomore Kennedi Freeland combined to strike out 265 batters last spring.

The Makos have strengths in all aspects of the game, including on the bases. Auburn commit Daigle Wilson swiped 57 bases in 2024. Class of 2026 Arkansas pledge Katie King has 90 career stolen bases.

2. Melissa (Texas)
The Cardinals hit 92 home runs last spring. As freshmen, Hutton Adrian, Rihanna Wheeler, Amariee Bradford and Izzy Gonzales combined to hit 43.

3. Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)
Class of 2026 Colby Reish delivered a two-out line drive single in the bottom of the eighth inning for a walk-off win in the 2024 Class 3A state championship. She returns with many other weapons looking to repeat

4. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills, Calif.)
The Trojans have won consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 titles and are stacked up and down the lineup with players committed to Washington, LSU, Nevada, Santa Clara and a pair going to North Carolina State.

5. Summerville (S.C.)
The Green Wave's Class of 2026 features Missouri commit Katie Guilliam and all-state selection Hope Chase, who hope to help the program extend its 50-game win streak.

6. Austintown-Fitch (Youngstown, Ohio)
Finished No. 6 in the final MaxPreps Top 25 and will start there to begin 2025. One of the top players in the Class of 2025 is Georgia Tech Sydnie Watts, who is a force on both sides of the ball. Class of 2027 Kaliana Ray had a monster freshman season, batting over .700.

7. Katy (Texas)
The Tigers fell short of their ultimate goal last season as they were bounced from 6A state play in the regional semifinals. They return a load of talent including pitcher and Oklahoma commit Ella Kate Smith, Missouri signee Avery Porter, LSU commit Lauryn Soeken, Houston pledge Hailey Gore and slugger and Oklahoma State commit Montgomery Henderson.

8. Norco (Calif.)
Consistency is the hallmark of Norco's program with 20 or more wins in each of the past 20 seasons. Back in the circle will be junior Peyton May, who is an Oklahoma State commit. She is joined by seniors Dakota Potter (South Carolina), outfielder Tamryn Shorter (Boise State) and junior Sasha Pham (California).

9. Etiwanda (Calif.)
The Eagles finished the season with 13-straight wins and brought home a Division 2 SoCal championship. Michigan State signee Alyssa Galindo had a 0.83 ERA in over 100 innings of work and also hit 12 home runs at the plate. Fellow seniors Kimberlee Aleman, an Oregon State commit, and California-Riverside commit Taylor Wren are both back after hitting over .400 last spring.

10. Ridgeline (Millville, Utah)
The Riverhawks finished 30-1 last season and won a Class 4A state championship. Brielle Gardiner had one of top freshman seasons in the entire country after going 27-1 with a 0.78 ERA. She can also hit, combining with Class of 2025 Texas commit Anne Wallace to hit 19 bombs.

11. Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Closed out 2024 with 18-straight wins topped with a 5A state championship. Northwestern commit Lilly Goodwin returns in the circle and is joined by sluggers Zoe Horning and Grand Canyon University commit McKinsey Beyer

12. Murrieta Mesa (Murrieta, Calif.)
The Rams will once again have talent up and down their lineup. On the bump returning for her junior season is Arizona commit Lilly Hauser, who finished 23-1 with a 0.63 ERA in 2024. Tennessee commit Taelyn Holley will be one of the most feared hitters in Southern California after smashing 11 bombs and hitting .598 last spring.

13. Doral Academy (Doral, Fla.)
Finished 2024 with a 26-2 record before falling in the 6A state semis. The Firebirds will have Clemson commit Sarah Breaux back in the lineup after hitting .603 with 15 jacks. Junior Texas commit Anabela Abdullah is considered one of the top defensive players in the Class of 2026. She is also a major weapon on offense with a big bat and speed on the base paths.

14. Coahoma (Texas)
Two Texas commits, senior pitcher and slugger Hannah Wells and junior power hitter Mia Clemmer, helped the Bulldogs to a perfect 32-0 season last spring. The two combined to hit 28 bombs. Junior Bree Lewis also added five and hit .530 during her sophomore campaign.

15. Carterville (Ill.)
Finished 37-1 and ranked No. 13 nationally in 2024. Two of the top juniors in the country are back in Taryn Ford and Caidence Phillips, who combined to go 34-1 and mow down 494 batters as sophomores.

16. Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.)
The Mountain Lions had a solid 2024 season finishing 27-5 overall. They have the talent this year to compete for state and it starts in the circle with Kendall Cochran. The senior Utah State commit went 19-3 with a 0.80 ERA. Juniors Taylor Hampton, a Texas AM commit, and Oklahoma commit Payton Westra are just a few of the big bats returning in 2025.

17. Calvary Baptist Academy (Shreveport, La.)
It's hard to remove a team from the top who has captured four-straight titles even though they lost key players to graduation. Back are Carlie Guile, Baylor Bockhaus and Loren Sivils, who combined to hit 42 home runs.

18. Neshannock (New Castle, Pa.)
The Lancers have won 73 of their last 74 games and went undefeated in 2024. Providence College commit Addy Frye struck out over 200 and finished with a 0.59 ERA. Kent State commit Jaidon Nogay will also return after batting .492 as a sophomore.

19. St. John-Vianney (Holmdel, N.J.)
With six underclassmen in the lineup last season, the Lancers won their second-straight Non-Public A state championship in 2024. MaxPreps State Player of the Year Madison McDougall is back after mowing down 300 hitters as a sophomore.

20. Garner (N.C.)
The Trojans rolled to the school's first state title in 2024 and have the pieces to make another deep run. Powerful left-handed pitcher Gabriella Czuczuk is back. The Columbia University commit pitched in 143 innings last season as a junior. Also back is the top hitter in Virginia Tech commit Gaby Mizelle.

21. Weslaco (Texas)
The Panthers went on a miracle run to bring home the Class 6A title last spring. A hero was born in now-junior Andrea Ortiz, who hit a walk off grand slam to bring home the school's first championship. Also back is pitcher Madelynn Cantu, a MaxPreps Underclass All-American, .

22. Pinnacle (Phoenix, Ariz.)
The Pioneers reload with major weapons at the dish. Alabama commit Torynn Slaughter is back for her junior season after batting .619 last spring. Another junior slugger is Duke commit Sienna Caro, who blasted 10 bombs as a sophomore. Senior Utah commit Payton Crank is another solid stick in this daunting lineup for opposing pitchers.

23. Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas)
The returning 4A state champs lost some big bats to graduation but still have outstanding talent back in 2025. Jordyn Thibodeaux mowed down 154 batters, went 20-1 and finished with a 0.93 ERA. Texas-San Antonio commit Brookelynn Meador had a monster junior season with 12 home runs and a .458 batting average. Class of 2026 Texas-Arlington Braelyn Bailey also returns after hitting seven jacks and batted .467.

24. Gaylord (Mich.)
Oklahoma State commit Aubrey Jones and Ferris State commit Kennedy Wangler are looking to go out with three-straight championships. The Blue Devils finished 2024 on a 13-game winning streak capped by a 3-2 victory over Vicksburg in eight innings in the Division 2 final.

25. Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.)
It will be hard to top a 2024 season that ended in a walk-off state title victory but the Royals have the weapons to continue the magical ride. MaxPreps State Player of the Year Grace Swedarsky returns for her junior season after going 18-2 in the circle with 270 punch-outs.

Next 25

26. Xavier College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.)
27. Northwest Rankin (Brandon, Miss.)
28. Bloomingdale (Valrico, Fla.)
29. St. Charles North (St. Charles, Ill.)
30. Rising Sun (North East, Md.)
31. Marist (Chicago, Ill.)
32. Gray Collegiate Academy (West Columbia, S.C.)
33. Gordonsville (Tenn.)
34. Coral Springs Charter (Coral Springs, Fla.)
35. Kingwood (Texas)
36. Kenosha Bradford (Kenosha, Wis.)
37. Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.)
38. Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.)
39. Lincoln-Way Central (New Lenox, Ill.)
40. Destiny Christian Academy (Sacramento, Calif.)
41. Henderson County (Henderson, Ky.)
42. Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.)
43. Randolph (Minn.)
44. Eagleville (Tenn.)
45. Hewitt-Trussville (Trussville, Ala.)
46. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)
47. Ichabod Crane (Valatie, N.Y.)
48. Sterlington (La.)
49. Hudsonville (Mich.)
50. Wamego (Kan.)