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South Carolina softball featured prominently in Softball America offseason Top 25

Screenshotby: Kevin Miller4 hours agokevinmillerGC
South Carolina softball coach Ashley Chastain Woodard. Photo by: Katie Dugan | GamecockCentral
South Carolina softball coach Ashley Chastain Woodard (Photo by Katie Dugan | GamecockCentral

South Carolina softball coach Ashley Chastain Woodard had a record-breaking first year leading her alma mater last season. The Gamecocks won 44 games and earned a top eight national host seed. The big-time season saw USC finish in the top 15 of all four major polls, including a best-ever No. 10 finish according to the USA Softball/ESPN.com.

That end-of-season ranking also carried over into the offseason. Earlier this week, Softball America’s Tara Henry revealed her offseason top 25. South Carolina slotted in at No. 12 overall, a ranking good for sixth in the SEC.

You can see the entire top 25 below.

  1. Texas Tech Red Raiders
  2. Texas Longhorns
  3. Oklahoma Sooners
  4. Oregon Ducks
  5. Tennessee Volunteers
  6. Arkansas Razorbacks
  7. Nebraska Cornhuskers
  8. Florida State Seminoles
  9. Clemson Tigers
  10. Texas A&M Aggies
  11. UCLA Bruins
  12. South Carolina Gamecocks
  13. Florida Gators
  14. LSU Tigers
  15. Alabama Crimson Tide
  16. Stanford Cardinals
  17. Georgia Bulldogs
  18. Washington Huskies
  19. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  20. Duke Blue Devils
  21. Liberty Flames
  22. Mississippi State Bulldogs
  23. Ohio State Buckeyes
  24. Auburn Tigers
  25. Florida Atlantic Owls

Discuss South Carolina softball!

Six of the Gamecocks’ seven SEC series on the 2026 schedule come against teams in Henry’s top 25. Carolina will also play at least five ranked non-conference opponents, just from the team’s annual rivalry with the Clemson Tigers and the appearance in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

As usual, the schedule will be among the country’s most difficult, but South Carolina fans should have optimism that the 2026 Gamecocks will have the talent to compete at the highest level. In addition to returning major pieces from last year’s team like Arianna Rodi, Karley Shelton, Lexi Winters, Quincee Lilio, and Jori Heard, USC brought in a high school recruiting class with three top 100 national prospects and a talented transfer portal group of 10 players ready to compete for a role.

Ranked 12th in Henry’s poll, the Gamecocks are in prime position to battle once again for a high seed in the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

Henry’s colleagues at Softball America, Brady Vernon and Gray Robertson, positioned South Carolina at No. 14 and No. 17, respectively, earlier this offseason.

The Insiders Forum: Discuss South Carolina softball!