We’re suddenly beyond the mid-point of the SEC softball season and there are still several teams that could contend for the regular-season SEC title.
Texas and Oklahoma sit at the top of the league, but Texas A&M and LSU remain within striking distance. Tennessee and Florida have also shown serious flashes this season and could get back into the mix before the end of the year.
This story will take you through the SEC softball power rankings while taking record, résumé, statistical profiles and advanced stats into account.
SEC softball power rankings
Here’s a look at the at the latest SEC softball power rankings entering the weekend of April 12:
Bringing up the rear
15. Missouri (22-20, 2-10 SEC)
Mizzou has lost 4 games in a row entering the weekend. The Tigers were swept by Texas last week and then dropped a mid-week contest to Southern Illinois at home. Ouch. Missouri does own a couple of wins over ranked teams Oklahoma and Ole Miss, but no series victories in SEC play so far.
14. Kentucky (24-17, 6-9 SEC)
Kentucky slots in at No. 14 this week behind Auburn, who it lost to in a home series this past weekend. The Wildcats have 4 more SEC wins than the Tigers do, but these teams are comparable according to Warren Nolan’s ELO rankings so I’m giving the nod to Auburn for winning head-to-head last week. The Wildcats don’t have an SEC series this weekend and will instead go on the road to face Boston University in a double-header on Friday.
13. Auburn (25-16, 2-13 SEC)
The Tigers have really struggled in SEC play to begin the year. Early-season wins over North Carolina, Clemson, Virginia and Oklahoma State are the highlight of Auburn’s season so far. Their only victories in conference action have come against Kentucky in a road series last weekend. Auburn has the worst ERA in the league, coming in at 3.92 entering the weekend.
12. Georgia (26-13, 4-10 SEC)
April has not been kind to the Bulldogs. Georgia got swept by Texas A&M in a 2-game series last weekend and also lost a mid-week game to Mercer. The Bulldogs are another team without a series victory since the start of SEC play. UGA has been outplayed on both sides of the ball pretty consistently this year. It ranks 12th in slugging percentage and 13th in ERA amongst SEC teams.
Middle of the pack
11. Ole Miss (30-9, 6-6 SEC)
Ole Miss has had a disappointing few weeks. The Rebels lost a hard-fought series to South Carolina last weekend. Before that, Ole Miss failed to sweep Mizzou at home and also lost a series to Kentucky. Ole Miss’s series victory over Arkansas is suddenly feeling like it happened a very, very long time ago. Ole Miss is still 4th in the SEC in ERA entering the weekend, but it needs more from its offense.
10. Alabama (28-15, 5-7 SEC)
Alabama has faced an incredibly-tough SEC schedule so far. The Crimson Tide have already seen Mississippi State, Texas A&M and LSU. They also have a home series win over Georgia. Unfortunately for Bama, the schedule doesn’t get much easier with Oklahoma and Florida still to come. I think Alabama is a bit better than its SEC record may indicate, but the Tide have struggled a bit with elite competition this year so they’re just middle-of-the-pack for now.
9. Mississippi State (31-10, 7-5 SEC)
Mississippi State had an excellent start to nonconference play and that has mostly carried over to SEC action. The Bulldogs have lost 4 of their last 6 SEC games, but those series were against contenders Texas and Tennessee. Mississippi State is slugging .557 this year, which is toward the top of the SEC leaderboard for that category. Mississippi State has a chance to pad its record this weekend with a home series against Mizzou.
8. South Carolina (31-8, 6-6 SEC)
The Gamecocks have won 3 SEC series in a row entering this weekend’s slate against Arkansas in Fayetteville. South Carolina has not shown off much power this season as it’s dead-last in home runs (29) amongst SEC teams. The Gamecocks are also only 8th in the SEC in ERA. So while the résumé is good, I’m not sure they belong in a tier higher than this one.
7. Arkansas (29-8, 8-7 SEC)
Arkansas upset Florida last weekend in Gainesville, taking 2 out of 3 from the Gators in a huge statement victory. The Razorbacks also previously swept Kentucky and won a series against Tennessee. But like South Carolina, there’s not much about this profile that looks to be elite at this point in the season. Next up for Arkansas: a big opportunity to pad its record against South Carolina at home.
Upside to contend
6. Florida (35-8, 7-5 SEC)
Florida’s résumé is highlighted by a series win in College Station last month. The Gators are coming off of a disappointing weekend against Arkansas at home, but they still land in this tier because their offense is elite. They are one of three teams in the SEC with a slugging percentage north of .600 this season. Florida also has an ace in Keagan Rothrock who has a 1.80 ERA this season and is back in the lineup after missing several weeks due to an injury.
5. LSU (35-5, 8-4 SEC)
LSU took a home series from Alabama last weekend. LSU is led by Danieca Coffey and Tori Edwards, who are 2 of the SEC’s 8 hitters who are batting at least .440 on the season. The Tigers do have a very tough remaining schedule, so it’s possible they’ll slip from this placement in future weeks. Texas A&M, Texas, Florida and Arkansas are on deck.
4. Tennessee (32-8, 7-5 SEC)
Tennessee’s résumé might not completely warrant this placement in the rankings, but the Vols accomplished something truly special earlier this year: they won a series in Norman. That was just Oklahoma’s 2nd home series loss since 2006. That’s not a typo. Perhaps even more importantly, this Tennessee team has an identity: elite pitching. The Vols have far-and-away the No. 1 ERA in the SEC, coming in at 1.68. Karlyn Pickens (0.94) is the only pitcher in the SEC with an ERA under 1.
The Favorites
3. Texas A&M (34-5, 8-3 SEC)
The Aggies have won 9 in a row entering this weekend’s series against LSU in College Station. Texas A&M gets it done on both sides of the ball as it is 1 of just 3 teams in the SEC to be top-5 in both batting average and ERA. Offensively, the Aggies are led by Mya Perez who is third in the SEC with an .890 slugging percentage.
2. Oklahoma (35-3, 9-3 SEC)
In most cases, Oklahoma would get the benefit of the doubt. The Sooners are 35-3 this season and have won the last 4 national championships in a row. But OU slots in at No. 2 this week because of one big issue: pitching. Gone is Kelly Maxwell, who led the Sooners in the circle a year ago en route to another title. Audrey Lowry has been limited by injuries this season and the rest of the staff has not picked up the slack to this program’s usual standard. Oklahoma is 6th in the SEC with an ERA of 2.40. The offense is still elite, led by Kasidi Pickering, but OU is a clear second-best at this point due to its fall-off in the circle.
1. Texas (38-3, 10-2 SEC)
The Longhorns have been dominant all year, most recently sweeping Mizzou on the road. Texas might have the best hitter (Reese Atwood) in the conference to go along with the elite 1-2 punch of Citlaly Gutierrez and Teagan Kavan in the circle. UT’s lineup is ridiculous — it has 3 hitters who are batting .450 or better and Atwood — the league’s leader in slugging percentage — isn’t even amongst that group. Texas does have to travel to Norman later this month, so we’ll have a head-to-head datapoint for this matchup before too long.
SEC Softball Power Rankings: Newcomers Texas, Oklahoma sit atop the league (April 11) Saturday Down South.
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