The remaining top 25 is 21. Duke 22. Stanford 23. Mississippi State 24. Ohio State 25. Oklahoma State

TAMU moved down to 14th. This is the main issue I have with this poll. If TAMU was truly a #1 caliber team they wouldn’t have been dropped all the way to #14, and Liberty #17, even though they beat TAMU in a huge upset, and Liberty ranked ahead of us and we dominated them 15-0 total in the two games we played them and Emma, threw a no-hitter at their place. VT hovered around the 12th to 15th ranking most of the season and that’s where we should have been ranked, plus we play in P4 conference and Liberty is still in a mid-major. VT just doesn’t get the credit they are due! As many have said before, VT will not get the respect they deserve until they get back to the WCWS and win it to gain elite status in college softball. ** Edited by PokieHokie at 6/10/2025, 2:00:24 PM ** Edited by PokieHokie at 6/10/2025, 2:07:43 PM

than a fair ranking. You could move Liberty behind us, but using this logic, you would have to move LSU in front of us (after beating us twice). So, if you flip Liberty and LSU, that still puts us at 18th. Even if A&M doesn't drop as far (which I don't necessarily disagree with you at all there), they still are (should be in front of us) ranked higher than 18. So, in the end, 18th is where we are and probably should be. There is no one else in front of us that we "should" be ranked higher than. I guess I take a different line of thought after being around college athletics for a while. We do get the credit we are due. We are very well respected in the softball world. And the degree of separation from, say number 3 or 4, to number 18 is not very large (and closer than ever). Subjective rankings are extremely hard to do, and pollsters don't examine one school versus the other on a head to head basis (when you get down past winner/loser of the National Championship series). In Liberty's case, they went on the road to the number 1 overall seed and did something that hasn't been done before (first number 1 not to advance past regionals). We are a firmly entrenched ranked softball program. We have hosted in recent years (all the way through Supers), and we have been on the road (coming close to hosting). We do have to find a way to take that next step to garner whatever "lack of respect" some think we are missing. I find that, on the whole, you have to earn that respect of an elite program on the field. We are pretty much right there, but it isn't going to be given to us. Programs that eventually become "elite" have to win a few when they aren't supposed to win. We are battling a lot of schools that are right there with us. And hopefully, we have the resources needed to continue our climb. But, I think when it comes to supporters mindsets, we need to move past this thinking that we are not getting the respect that is due. That just isn't the case. Hopefully next year will be another strong year for Hokie Softball. Our people need to continue to get behind the program and look ahead not behind. We have a very good softball brand and should feel good about it (but wishing to continue growing). Time to keep getting better. Rest assured, all of those other ranked programs are saying those things to their core support groups right now as well!

Granted its unfair to make Keely the expectation, but Lem was a step down from her, and most likely our best pitcher next year will be a step down from Lem. Not that next years pitchers won't be solid, but they probably won't be hosting regionals level good especially after also losing our best offensive play and one of the best offensive players in the country.

You never know. I had trouble finding 100 home runs for 2025 before the season, and how would the team reach 40 wins without 100 home runs, but the team reached both numbers again.

The top 8 in this poll are all the teams that got to the WCWS and most of the Top 16 reflects the team that got to the super regionals. This is the norm for the polls at the end of the year. I