OK, now it gets serious…

The big states of California, Florida and Texas are in full playoff mode and that means that, if you lose now, you not only go home for good, but your national ranking in the Line Drive SUPER 70 National High School Rankings will likely be seriously comprised.

While there was little movement in the Top 10, a big example of how losing early in the state playoffs can be significant saw a team previously ranked No. 15 in country lose and drop out of the Top 50 entirely.

Why?

Because teams that go deeper into the playoffs will be taking the place of teams who start to finish their seasons earlier than hoped.

It’s a tough world, these national rankings, but it truly because a case of those who endure to the end are the ones who finish on top, both in their state playoffs and in the SUPER 70.

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Ranked Teams Facing Off in State Playoffs Includes Upset in Texas

There were no additional state championships that were decided among the top-ranked high school softball teams in the nation over the past week after the Louisiana finals involving Calvary Baptist Academy of Shreveport were completed the previous week.

As all of the various state championship brackets get more narrowed down, however, some of the top-ranked teams in the SUPER 70 are beginning to run into each other.

The best example of that last week was in the Class 6A state playoffs in Texas where previous No. 15 Kingwood lost twice to previous No. 27 Katy and was eliminated. The Tigers topped the Mustangs, 6-2 in eight innings,  and then 4-0. There would have been a third game in the series if Kingwood had won one of the first two. 

Since Kingwood’s season is over, it fell all the way out of this week’s SUPER. There are just too many other top Texas teams still going that have to be listed.

One of those is new No. 40 Byron Nelson of Trophy Club, which also is in the Class 6A bracket and is going to be playing No. 22 Guyer this week after sweeping a pair of games last week over Flower Mound Marcus.

Others in the Class 6A playoffs in Texas are No. 20 Midway of Waco and No. 34 Pharr-San Juan-Alamo.

Teams still going in the Texas Class 5A state playoffs include No. 2 Lake Creek of Montgomery, No. 5 Barbers Hill and No. 8 Melissa.

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SoCal Does It Different… Teams Seeded by Computer Rankings

The CIF Southern Section D1 playoffs in California, with 32 teams and all seeded and placed according to computer rankings and not school enrollments like most states still use, will be getting started on Thursday and Friday.

Since the CIFSS went to that system, its D1 bracket normally is going to have the most nationally ranked teams involved.

For this year, that will be current No. 3 Norco, No. 6 Murrieta Mesa of Murrieta, No. 32 Fullerton (which lost a game last week and had to drop from No. 8 in last week’s rankings) and new No. 44 Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.

Not all of the California sections do the competitive equity computer rankings format for its playoffs, but sometimes the enrollments match up and possible showdowns emerge.

For the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D3 playoffs, for example, unbeaten Destiny Christian of Sacramento (led by national recruit Ayla Tuua) and unbeaten Ponderosa of Shingle Springs seem destined to meet in that section’s title game at the end of next week.

Destiny Christian moved up to No. 10 and Ponderosa to No. 19 in this week’s Super 70.

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More Ranked Teams to Meet in Florida & North Carolina.

Those kinds of possible matchups down the road also impact other moves each week in the national rankings. It’s just different when you know two or three teams may be facing each other soon.

Outside of California, this includes Melbourne, Doral Academy and Bartow all in Florida’s Class 6A bracket plus Weddington and D.C. Conley in North Carolina’s Class 7A playoffs.

Later this week in Florida, SUPER 70 No. 18 Cardinal Gibbons is going to play No. 38 Coral Springs Charter in a Class 3A showdown.

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Line Drive SUPER 70 National High School Softball Rankings

After results of Tuesday, May 12, 2026

(Previous rank in parentheses)

1. (1) South Warren (Bowling Green, Ky.) 35-0

2. (2) Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas) 35-1

3. (3) Norco (Norco, Calif.) 25-2

4. (4) Orange Beach (Orange Beach, Ala.) 42-1

5. (5) Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas) 36-3

6. (6) Murrieta Mesa (Murrieta, Calif.) 25-1

7. (7) Melbourne (Melbourne, Fla.) 26-1

8. (9) Melissa (Melissa, Texas) 31-2

9. (10) Queen Creek (Queen Creek, Ariz.) 30-1

10. (11) Destiny Christian (Sacramento, Calif.) 24-0