With college softball season in its second month of play, rankings are both consistent and shocking compared to popular belief. The University of Oklahoma Sooners, having won two College Softball World Series in the past four years, are expected to keep up their dominating reputation. Though the Sooners are ranked seventh overall, they are predicted to defend their national title and are ultimately the team to beat.

Though Oklahoma is the team to look out for, their rival, fourth-ranked Auburn University, is soaking up a bit of the spotlight as well. Last year, Auburn and Oklahoma battled through three tough games in the College World Series. Oklahoma barely took game one with a score of 3-2, but Auburn bounced back and tied the series in game 2 with a score of 11-7. During a highly anticipated third game, Oklahoma pulled off the win with a score of 2-1. College softball fans are anticipating another battle between the two teams this season.

Along with Auburn, many other teams have surprised college softball fans by holding onto their spots in the top five. The University of Florida Gators have been in the number one spot for two consecutive weeks, recently outscoring University of Missouri 7-0 in two games. The University of Oregon Ducks, The Florida State University Seminoles and The University of Arizona Wildcats have been bouncing around ranks two through four, consistently staying within the top five. With many teams in the running for the NCAA tournament, fans are hoping to see their favorites in postseason play.

“Michigan [is my favorite team],” junior Katherine Sorensen said. “All of the girls are super athletic and inspiring, plus they work well as a team.”

Being a Division I softball team requires a lot more than just skill. Coaches are constantly looking for girls with natural talent that are the right fit for their team and school. Athletes need to have the right mentality and spirit to compete on a Division I softball team.

“I’m trying to figure out what it takes to get today’s athlete to make a total commitment to the sport, to [make a commitment] to excellence and to find the right balance for the team,” Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said in an interview with Fastpitch TV Softball.

Coaches encourage athletes to go to many different camps to try to find schools that are the right fit for them based on what they are looking to get out of college softball. Although finding the right school is most important for athletes looking to play college softball, practice and mentality are also big factors.

“Coaches just kept telling me ‘you know, you could be really good if you really put the work in’ and I kind of thought about it and was like ‘I might as well try it,’” former University of Oklahoma pitcher and College Softball World Series Champion Keilani Ricketts said in an interview with Fastpitch TV Softball. “When I was 15 I would throw about 50 of each pitch every day.”

College softball is very advanced and competitive sport that requires a combination of skill and teamwork; the teams that are able to combine these two factors the best are the ones that will appear in the College Softball World Series.