MaxPreps Top 25 national high school softball rankings

Video: MaxPreps Softball Preseason Top 100

After suffering at least two early-season losses, four teams that were ranked in the Top 25 in MaxPreps' Preseason Top 100 are not in the season's first Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

As a result, four new teams, two ranked lower in the Preseason 100, find themselves ranked in the Top 25. And the Top 10 looks different than it did two weeks ago.

Ranked No. 34 in the Preseason Top 100, Deer Park (Texas) has opened the season 13-0 and takes over the No. 3 spot, previously held by Atascocita, which dropped to No. 12. Oakleaf (Orange Park, Fla.), which is 12-0 as pitchers Kelsey Sweatt and Madisyn Davis have limited opponents to just four earned runs, takes over No. 7 after being ranked No. 76 in the preseason.

Also climbing rapidly is Desert Ridge (Mesa, Ariz.) which is in at No. 8 with seven wins during the first week of the season.

The fourth new team to the Top 25 is American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.). The 7-0 Patriots move into the No. 21 spot after their 1-0 win over 9-1 Coral Springs Charter, which hadn't lost since 2014.


1. (1 last week) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 0-0
The CIF Southern Section 2015 D-2 runner-up opens its season Saturday, hosting Kennedy (La Palma).

2. (2) Grand Terrace (Calif.), 2-0
Grand Terrace opened with a 19-0 win over Vista del Lago (Moreno Valley), then beat Poly (Riverside), 6-3.

3. (34) Deer Park (Texas), 13-0
The Deer, ranked No. 34 in the Preseason Top 100, won the 64-team Bryan tournament two weeks ago, then went unbeaten in the Pearland tournament and have a run differential of 104 scored and 17 allowed through 13 games.

4. (4) Reed (Sparks, Nev.), 0-0
The 2015 large schools champions open their season March 10.

5. (5) Eagle (Idaho), 0-0
The reigning 5A state champions get underway March 9 at Timberline (Boise).

6. (6) McCracken County (Paducah, Ky.), 0-0
The reigning state champions will try to improve upon their 29-game win streak with a season opener March 17 at Marshall County.

7. (76) Oakleaf (Orange Park, Fla.), 12-0
The Knights have outscored their foes 90-6 with nine shutouts, including a 2-1 win over No. 17 Gainesville.

8. (NR) Desert Ridge (Mesa, Ariz.), 7-0
It was a good first week for the Jaguars, with seven wins, including three by one run. They play Queen Creek on Tuesday.

9. (9) Los Alamitos (Calif.), 0-0
The Griffins host Dana Hills (Dana Point) Thursday.

10. (10) Penn (Mishawaka, Ind.), 0-0
The Kingsmen open their season March 29.

11. (11) Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.), 0-0
The season opener for the Mariners is Saturday against Eastlake (Chula Vista).

12. (3) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 7-1
The Eagles have won four straight since a 3-2 loss to 4A Caldwell. They host The Woodlands on Tuesday.

13. (13) Crown Point (Ind.), 0-0
The Bulldogs open their season April 12.

14. (19) Newsome (Lithia, Fla.), 9-0
The Wolves have outscored their foes 95-7. Claire Feldman had a perfect game with 18 strikeouts in 2-0 win over Palm Harbor and now has 45 strikeouts in 22 innings. The Wolves host Wharton (Tampa) on Tuesday.

15. (15) Curry (Jasper, Ala.), 0-0
The defending 4A state champions open Tuesday against Winfield.

16. (14) Keystone (La Grange, Ohio), 0-0
The Wildcats open their season March 28 at Whiteville.

17. (16) Gainesville (Fla.), 9-1
The Hurricanes lost to unbeaten Oakleaf and blanked Columbia and reigning 6A champion Forest (Ocala), 4-0 on Katie Chronister's one-hit, 13 strikeout effort. They host city rival Buckholz on Tuesday.

18. (17) La Grange (Texas), 11-1
The Tigers have won 11 straight since a 4-3 season-opening loss to Mansfield. One of their big wins was 10-0 over No. 22 Lewisville. The Tigers will be in the A&M Consolidated Tournament beginning Thursday.

19. (18) Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.), 0-0
The Huskies open their season March 19.

20. (21) Saugus (Calif.), 2-0
The Centurions opened the season with a pair of wins over Westlake (Westlake Village) on Monday, 7-0 and 13-1.

21. (NR) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 7-0
The Patriots got their sixth shutout in seven games when they ended Coral Springs Charter's 42-game winning streak.

22. (12) Lewisville (Texas), 11-2
Since losing 10-0 to No. 17 La Grange, Lewisville has won 10 straight.

23. (23) Siegel (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 0-0
The Stars open their season March 14 against crosstown rival Oakland.

24. (24) Campbell (Ewa Beach, Hawaii), 0-0
The defending large school champions open their season on Friday at Wai'anae.

25. (25) Etiwanda (Calif.), 0-0
The Eagles host Diamond Ranch (Pomona) on Tuesday.

Dropped out: Pearland (Texas), Katy (Texas), Forest (Fla.), O'Connor (Ariz.).