Media outlets can't stop raving about the SEC’s dominance in men’s basketball this year. The conference is preparing to send a record of anywhere between 11 and 13 teams to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. That’s impressive, but not the most jarring feat the conference achieved this week. That would come on the softball diamond.
When DI Softball and ESPN each released their first rankings after the start of conference play, the SEC debuted with seven teams in the top 10. No other conference was represented by more than six in the entire Top 25. If that seems atypical to you, that’s because it is. There’s never been an individual conference with more teams ranked in the top 10 than any other conference has in the entire rankings. Here’s the context behind the SEC’s record-setting year thus far.
The 2024 College World Series featured two SEC teams — Alabama and Florida —- which was the conference’s lowest number in over a decade. However, the championship was a battle of soon-to-be Southeastern foes, as top-seeded Oklahoma and Texas faced off in a largely uncompetitive two-game series that concluded with the Sooners’ fourth consecutive championship.
That pair entered the 2025 season atop the polls alongside Florida at No. 3, and the trio has only traded slots through the first six weeks of play. Similarly, the three other SEC teams that entered the 2025 season in the top 10 have remained there, with Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU making up three of the other four slots in the top 7.
South Carolina is the one deviant from the SEC’s top 10 formula. The Gamecocks are ninth in this week’s rankings despite being swept by Oklahoma in their first SEC series last weekend. That would be because U of SC opened the season 20-0 en route to being one of the previous two unbeaten teams in the nation. The other was, and remains, Oklahoma.
The Sooners perfectly represent what has fueled the SEC’s historic success this season. Oklahoma trots out a lineup that features a mix of three starters and a variety of highly-touted recruits and transfers, but those newbies are performing. Through 23 games, the Sooners’ new faces have combined for 30 home runs, with four of the six batting .323 or higher.
“I’m loving them right now,” Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso said. “They are just very hard working, they are fearless, they hustle, they’re strong, they play as a team, they’re somewhat intimidating on the field, they’re fast, they’re clutch — everything I’m looking for.”
Similarly, Florida returned five starters from its CWS semifinal berth last year, but its star has been a freshman right fielder.
Entering the 2025 season, UF expected its lineup to center around junior catcher Jocelyn Erickson, the reigning NFCA National Player of the Year. Now, let’s pretend the Gators had to be led by a new addition. It’d make sense for graduate student shortstop Rylee Holtorf and third baseman Kenleigh Cahalan, both transfers, to bump into starring roles. But Florida’s fifth-ranked recruit in the 2025 class becoming a national sensation may have just been one of the last things anyone expected for UF this season.
That’s what Taylor Shumaker has done thus far, leading the nation in RBIs, runs and home runs. The California native has crossed the U.S. and guided the Gators to the No. 3 slot across the rankings outlets.
“She’s awesome,” UF sophomore ace Keagan Rothrock said. “For her being a freshman, she is so smart and just has fun with it. She just goes out there and does her thing. I feel like you would ever know that she is actually a freshman.”
Across the board, new stars have powered SEC teams to the top. LSU juniors Avery Hodge and Jaila Lassiter, Tennessee senior Kinsey Fiedler and freshman Saviya Morgan and Texas A&M freshman Frankie Vrazel, to name a few, have elbowed into starting roles at new schools. Their growing and often unexpected contributions have been the SEC’s difference this season, giving the conference hope for its first CWS victory since 2015.
However, as the tale of sports history has proven time and time again, just because the SEC reigns over softball right now doesn’t mean it will translate to postseason success. Yes, it doesn’t hurt that the conference added a four-time reigning champion during the offseason. But the College World Series doesn’t churn out the most well-rounded champion always. It airs on the side of whoever has caught fire at the right time.
So while the SEC’s dominance has been historic — quite literally the only example in college athletics history — don’t count your victories just yet… unless you’re Oklahoma.
Contact Noah White at nwhite@alligator.org. Follow him on X @noahwhite1782.
Noah is a Spring 2025 Assistant Sports Editor and Copy Desk Chief. He's a second-year journalism major who enjoys reading and shamefully rooting for Tennessee sports teams. He is also a Liberty League Women's Soccer expert.
