The Oklahoma Sooners softball program has built one of the strongest dynasties in college sports under head coach Patty Gasso. However, the 2026 season has started a little differently from what fans are used to. Even with a solid 20–2 record, the Sooners are currently ranked outside the top three in national polls after the first four weeks of the season.
While this might surprise some fans, many analysts believe the rankings reflect the team’s early-season results rather than their historic dominance.
Oklahoma Softball Ranked Outside the Top Five
After Week 4 of the college softball season, different national polls placed the Oklahoma Sooners softball slightly lower than usual.
Here is where OU landed in major rankings:
| Poll | Ranking |
|---|---|
| ESPN / USA Softball Top 25 | No. 4 |
| D1Softball Top 25 | No. 4 |
| Softball America | No. 6 |
| NFCA Coaches Poll | No. 6 |
For most programs, being ranked fourth or sixth would be considered excellent. But for Oklahoma, a team that has dominated the sport for years, it feels unusual.
Still, based on the first few weeks of the season, the rankings make sense.
Teams Currently Ahead of Oklahoma
In the Softball America rankings, several teams sit ahead of OU because they remain unbeaten or have fewer losses.
Those teams include:
- Tennessee Lady Volunteers softball
- Texas Tech Red Raiders softball
- Texas Longhorns softball
- Alabama Crimson Tide softball
- Arkansas Razorbacks softball
Both Tennessee and Alabama are still unbeaten at 19–0, which makes it easier for voters to rank them ahead of Oklahoma early in the season.
Strong Performances at the Clearwater Classic
Some of the teams ranked ahead of OU also played stronger early schedules. For example, Tennessee and Texas Tech competed in the competitive Clearwater Classic.
Tennessee recorded several impressive ranked wins, including victories over:
- Nebraska Cornhuskers softball
- Florida Atlantic Owls softball
- UCLA Bruins softball
- Florida State Seminoles softball
Meanwhile, Texas Tech went 5–1 in the tournament, beating teams like Florida State, Northwestern, FAU, NC State and James Madison.
These strong wins helped boost their ranking early in the season.
The Two Losses Hurting OU’s Ranking
The Sooners’ ranking has mainly been affected by two losses.
One of those defeats came against the Long Beach State Beach softball. That game became one of the biggest upsets of the college softball season so far.
Long Beach State currently holds a 12–8 record and has gone 4–4 since beating OU, which makes the loss look even worse from a rankings perspective.
The Sooners also lost earlier in the season to the Arizona Wildcats softball.
While early-season losses are not unusual, the teams ranked ahead of OU have mostly lost only to other ranked programs.
Oklahoma’s Offense Is Still Dominant
Even with the lower ranking, Oklahoma’s offense has been one of the best in the country.
The Sooners are averaging an incredible 14 runs per game through their first 21 contests and lead the nation in multiple offensive categories.
However, some of those numbers have been boosted by blowout wins against teams like:
- UTEP Miners softball
- Alabama State Hornets softball
- Montana Grizzlies softball
- New Mexico State Aggies softball
Because of that, voters are waiting to see how OU performs against stronger competition.
Pitching Still Finding Consistency
Another factor affecting Oklahoma’s ranking is pitching depth.
While star pitcher Audrey Lowry has been excellent in the circle, the Sooners have struggled when she is not pitching.
Improving consistency in the pitching rotation will likely be important as the season moves forward.
Patty Gasso’s Long-Term Strategy
This type of early schedule is not unusual for Patty Gasso. Last season, Oklahoma also started with a lighter schedule before facing the challenging Southeastern Conference slate.
That strategy allowed a young team to gain confidence early before dealing with stronger competition later in the year.
Even though the schedule hurt the team’s RPI at first, OU eventually climbed to fourth in the rankings by the end of the season.
Why Rankings in March Don’t Matter Much
College softball rankings in March rarely determine how a season ends. Championships are decided in the postseason, not by early polls.
Oklahoma proved that last year when the team came close to returning to the Women’s College World Series Championship Series.
Interestingly, the eventual national champion that season was Texas Longhorns softball—a team OU swept during the regular season.
