Buford stayed unbeaten and passed Georgia rival East Coweta for the top spot this week in the NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll.

The (13-0) Wolves won four more contests, while reigning 6A champion East Coweta (13-2) suffered its first two losses since a 1-0 defeat to Buford in last year’s state final round.

Buford outscored its opponents this week 35-1 and didn’t allow a run until Wednesday’s 9-1 rout of Walnut Grove. The Indians lost twice to Eastside last Friday before rebounding to roll past Chapel Hill, 15-0 on Tuesday.

Dale (13-0) won five games this past week to keep pace with Buford and move up to No. 2.

The Pirates were scheduled to face Minco next, but will now be off until Sept. 22 versus Tuttle after Minco cancelled the remainder of its season following Monday night’s rollover bus crash that injured seven, including six critically.

Gretna (13-4) lost twice for the second consecutive week to drop from fifth to seventh, while one of the two ranked teams the Dragons lost to, Millard North, surged nine places to sixth after a 6-1 week that included four ranked victories and the NFCA Kaiti Williams Memorial Leadoff Classic crown.

The (14-3) Mustangs defeated Piedmont, Helias Catholic, Gretna and Papillion-LaVista en route to the title at a tournament where they were runner-up in both 2022 and 2024.

Second-place finisher Papillion-LaVista, the 2023 Kaiti Williams champion, lost to No. 14 Blue Springs South the day before the tournament started to drop below the Jaguars in the poll this week.

Also at that elite event, No. 11 Lincoln Southwest lost to Gretna, and 12th-ranked Helias Catholic fell short against a pair of ranked squads.

Arvada West (9-1) is the lone newcomer to the poll this week, debuting at No. 13.

State rankings submitted by the NFCA High School Steering Committee are used to compile the NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll.

Five states play a fall fastpitch schedule, while Iowa recently completed its summer season:

• Colorado
• Georgia
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma
• Missouri  

*****

NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll – Sept. 12, 2025

 Dropped out: Williamsburg (Iowa).

NFCA High School Steering Committee 

The NFCA is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded coaches polls and All-America awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to awards, to in-person events and National Convention.