Where Alabama Softball Ranks In Coaches Poll Before Facing No. 1 Texas

Alabama softball took care of business before its upcoming showdown with the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.

The Crimson Tide (33-2 overall, 7-2 SEC) defeated North Dakota State, 8-1, on Friday night at Rhoads Stadium before run-ruling the Bison in a 13-0 shutout in five innings Saturday. After sweeping the two-game set, Alabama will face the Texas Longhorns (31-2, 8-1) in a three-game series beginning Thursday in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama's two victories over the Bison were part of a 4-0 week that included a doubleheader sweep of Jacksonville State and North Alabama on Wednesday. Brooke Wells clubbed four home runs last week, including two in the Tide's 10-3 win over Jacksonville State.

Alabama hit eight homers in its four games and outscored opponents, 43-4. Vic Moten picked up two wins in the circle while Jocelyn Briski notched her 13th of the season and lowered her ERA to 1.28 in 15 outings. Moten improved to 13-2 in 17 appearances this season and lowered her ERA to 1.47.

Alabama is batting .354 for the season. The Crimson Tide have totaled 63 home runs this season. Coach Patrick Murphy's team has also outscored its opponents, 255-51. In the circle, Alabama has combined for a 1.41 ERA in 223 innings. The Tide have a plus-5:1 strikeout-to-walk radio with 287 strikeouts to 57 walks.

Wells (.467/.578/1.044) and Alexis Pupillo (.450/.517/.910) lead Alabama at the plate, having combined for 27 home runs and 43 extra base hits.

Alabama softball rises in Coaches Poll after 4-0 week

In Tuesday's new Week 8 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll, Alabama rose two spots to No. 4. The Crimson Tide jumped past two SEC rivals in the rankings: the Florida Gators and Tennessee Lady Vols.

Florida dropped two of three over the weekend in Fayetteville to a top-10 Arkansas Razorbacks team. Tennessee also lost a weekend series, dropping two of three to the unranked Ole Miss Rebels.

Alabama trails Texas, runner-up Texas Tech, and Oklahoma in the Coaches Poll. The Sooners won two of three at LSU. Texas won two of three against Texas A&M, but the Longhorns saw their 29-game winning streak come to an end with Sunday's 9-7 loss.

New Softball Coaches Poll sees another top 5 shakeup

Texas held on to the top spot for the third week in a row. Oklahoma and Alabama each rose two spots to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. Florida fell to two spots to No. 5. Tennessee, which had spent five weeks at No. 1 earlier this season, fell for the second straight week. The Lady Vols dropped three spots to No. 7.

The Coaches Poll is still dominated by SEC schools, with six teams in the top 10 and 11 in the top 25 overall.

Here's a look at the full rankings as of March 31.

Others receiving votes:

UCF (26), Louisville (18), Southeastern Louisiana (17), Belmont (7), North Carolina (6), Clemson (2).

3 takeaways from Alabama's two-game series sweep vs. NDSU

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Start times, TV info for Alabama vs Texas softball top 5 series

Two of the three games between the top-ranked Longhorns and fourth-ranked Crimson Tide will be televised nationally. While Thursday's series opener in Tuscaloosa is scheduled for SEC Network+ (streaming only), Friday's game will be televised on SEC Network. Saturday's series finale will broadcast on ESPN.

All start times Central:

• Thursday, April 2: 6 p.m, SEC Network+
• Friday, April 3: 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
• Saturday, April 4: 5 p.m., ESPN

Here's a look at Alabama's full 2026 SEC softball schedule. All tentative start times Central.

• March 6-8: at Ole Miss (W, 5-3; W, 13-2; W, 2-1)
• March 13-15: vs. Arkansas (W, 4-1; L, 14-9; W, 4-1)
• March 20-22: at Missouri (W, 2-1; L, 5-2; W, 4-3)
• April 2-4: vs. Texas (6 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday)
• April 10-12: at Auburn (6 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday)
• April 17-19: vs. Kentucky (5 p.m. Friday, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Sunday)
• April 25-27: at Tennessee (3 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, 6 p.m. Monday)
• April 30-May 2: vs. South Carolina (6 p.m. Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday)

Record: 33-2.

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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama softball's Coaches Poll ranking after latest top 5 reshuffle