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Considering enrolling in one of the best softball colleges this year? Wondering which would be the best option? In this article, we list the best junior college softball programs along with an explanation of how to get a softball scholarship.
If softball is your sport, you’re very excellent at it, and you want to play it competitively in college or university, you should attend a top-ranked Division 1 NCAA school with the greatest softball athletes and coaches.
Of course, finding the right college to join can be difficult, so here is a list to get you started:
What College has the Best Softball Team
Iron sharpens iron, as the saying goes. You need to be sharpening your athletic skills with other elite softball athletes to be the best you can be. Here are some rankings for the best softball programs college that you should consider:
Oklahoma University
The most recent winners, coming in 1st position in the 2021 tournament, Oklahoma university’s Sooners are a member of the Big 12 Conference and participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).
They play their home games at the OU Softball Complex. Oklahoma has been to the NCAA Tournament 27 times, the NCAA Women’s College World Series 14 times, and has won the NCAA championship five times. OU also made four appearances in the AIAW Women’s College World Series. Patty Gasso is the team’s current coach.
In 2000, the Sooners earned their first national championship. They swept Harvard, Cal-State Northridge, and Oregon State in their home regionals to earn a spot in the Women’s College World Series for the first time. To reach the title game versus UCLA, they defeated California as well as Southern Mississippi and Arizona. They won their first national championship by defeating UCLA 3-1.
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Florida State
In the sport of softball, the Florida State Seminoles women’s softball team represents Florida State University (often known as Florida State or FSU). Florida State is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (ACC). Additionally, they are the winners of 2018
The University of Florida is the best school for D1 women’s softball athletes this year, according to the rankings. A public university in Gainesville, with a big student body, and in 2018-2019, it issued 9,663 bachelor’s degrees.
The University of Florida’s D1 Women’s Softball team earned $648,592 in revenue. The squad has a 991 academic advancement rate, indicating that members are concerned about their grades.
The institution has a 96 percent freshman retention rate, indicating that students enjoy their time there enough to return for a second year. UF fared well on our overall quality list in addition to its position in this ranking. It ranks in the top 5% of all schools examined in this study.
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UCLA
The 2019 winners UCLA Bruins softball team competes in NCAA Division I softball for the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruins are one of the most accomplished programs in NCAA softball, with 12, 13 overall Women’s College World Series championships, championship game appearances of 22, WCWS appearances of 29,[2] and NCAA Tournament victories of 187. They have dominated prominent programs such as Arizona (92-59), Washington (62-35) and Alabama (62-35). (9-1).
The University of California, Los Angeles, is the best school in California for D1 women’s softball athletes this year. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. The school has a big student body, and in 2018-2019, it issued 9,069 bachelor’s degrees.
On the financial side of things, UCLA’s D1 Women’s Softball team earned $592,598. The team members aren’t slackers in the classroom, though, with a 977 percent academic progress rate.
Students who begin their studies at the institution are more likely to complete their studies there. The retention rate for freshmen is 97 percent. UCLA earned a spot on our overall quality ranking as well. In this category, it ranks in the top 10% of all schools.
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Alabama
In this year’s ranking, The University of Alabama was deemed to be the best school for D1 Women’s Softball athletes in Alabama. The University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is a large public university. In the academic year 2018-2019, it issued 7,542 bachelor’s degrees.
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Free shippingPurdue
If you choose to attend Purdue University-Main Campus, you will be in good company. It was placed #4 on our ranking of Indiana’s Best Colleges for Women’s Softball Athletes in 2021. In the 2018-2019 academic year, this massive public university in West Lafayette, Indiana, issued 7,568 bachelor’s degrees.
Purdue’s Women’s Softball team brought in $454,712 in income.
The institution has a 91 percent freshman retention rate, indicating that students enjoy their time there enough to return for a second year. Purdue is not only ranked highly in this category but it is also ranked #4 in terms of overall quality.
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Arizona
The University of Arizona is the best school in Arizona for D1 women’s softball athletes this year. In the 2018-2019 academic year, this huge public university in Tucson, Arizona, issued 8,231 bachelor’s degrees.
On the financial side, the University of Arizona’s D1 Women’s Softball team earned $1,109,688 in revenue. The outstanding academic progress rate of 993 demonstrates that team members excel in the classroom as well.
University of Arizona is ranked #4 for overall quality in Arizona, in addition to its Best Colleges for Division I Women’s Softball in Arizona ranking, which is one of the reasons for its inclusion on the list.
The University of Arizona‘s D1 Women’s Softball team earned $1,309,168 in revenue. The team has a 997 academic advancement rate, indicating that members are concerned about their grades.
The retention rate for freshmen is 87 percent. UA also performed highly in our overall quality rankings. It came in third position on our overall quality list.
back to menu ↑Stanford University
Stanford University came in second place out of the 17 California colleges that were included in this year’s rating. In 2018-2019, the moderately large private non-profit school in Stanford, California, issued 1,892 diplomas to qualifying bachelor’s degree students.
In terms of money, Stanford’s D1 Women’s Softball team earned $166,335 in revenue. The team’s academic progress rate was a flawless 1000.
The retention rate for freshmen is 98 percent. Stanford came in second place in our overall quality rankings.
back to menu ↑University of Michigan
The University of Michigan – Ann Arbor is the best school in Michigan for women’s softball athletes this year, according to the rankings. In 2018-2019, the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, a big public university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, awarded 7,815 bachelor’s degrees.
In a single year, the University of Michigan Women’s Softball team raked in $488,298 in income.
The institution has a 97 percent freshman retention rate, indicating that students enjoy their time there enough to return for a second year. U-M is ranked #1 for overall quality in Michigan, in addition to its Best Colleges for Women’s Softball in Michigan ranking, which is one of the reasons for its inclusion on the list.
back to menu ↑University of North Carolina
If you choose to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, you’ll be in good company. It was placed #2 on our list of the best colleges in North Carolina for D1 women’s softball athletes in 2021. In 2018-2019, the massive public institution in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, issued 6,076 diplomas to qualifying bachelor’s degree students.
The UNC Chapel Hill D1 Women’s Softball team earned $664,568 in revenue. The team’s academic advancement rate is 993, indicating that its members are concerned about their grades.
The retention rate for freshmen is 96 percent. In our overall quality rankings, UNC Chapel Hill came in fourth.
back to menu ↑Harvard University
If you attend Harvard University, you’ll be around some of the top athletes in the world. This year’s ranking placed the school at #4. In 2018-2019, the big private non-profit school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, granted 2,902 degrees to qualifying bachelor’s degree students.
In a single year, Harvard’s D1 Women’s Softball team took in $506,583 in income. The players of the team aren’t slackers in the classroom, either, with a team academic progress rate of 991.
The retention rate for freshmen is 98 percent. Harvard is ranked #1 for overall quality in Massachusetts, in addition to its Best Colleges for Division I Women’s Softball in Massachusetts ranking, which is one of the reasons the institution is on the list.
Best Colleges for Softball Scholarships
When it comes to scholarships, there are certain aspects one must learn and understand first. While there are several universities and colleges that offer scholarships based on sports, you must first contact the coaches to be placed on their watch list. Pitchers are favored by softball coaches, and position players must compete for the remaining scholarships.
Coaches will only come to your softball games after they have completed their initial assessment of you. High-quality skills and highlight video will be required. Remember, just because you see a coach at a tournament doesn’t mean they’re recruiting you. Learn how to obtain a coach to keep an eye on you.
Softball coaches recruit individuals depending on their program’s positional needs. Make sure to do some research on the schools you’re considering to see if they have any underclassmen that play your position.
If you’re considering a certain institution, find out what its academic requirements are. The first stage in the admissions process is to meet the NCAA and NAIA minimal standards.
Can I Get a Softball Scholarship?
Softball is classed as an equivalency sport for NCAA scholarship purposes, thus participants can get a full-ride scholarship but it is not guaranteed. Coaches can split up their scholarships as they choose in equivalency sports and grant partial softball scholarships to entice more high-quality athletes. Division 1 colleges, for example, have 12 full-ride softball scholarships to offer. The coach can provide each athlete a two-third scholarship in order to provide funds to all 18 athletes on their roster.
In 2021, there will be roughly 1,678 varsity softball teams. For division level 1, here’s how that number breaks down:
| Division Level | Number of Schools | Max Scholarships | Avg Roster Size |
| D1 | 296 | 12 | 21 |
The NCAA D1 Council passed changes that made it easier for need-based aid and academic scholarships that aren’t related to athletic ability to be awarded. Teams in equivalency sports like softball will no longer have their athletes’ needs- and academic-based aid count towards their maximum athletic scholarship limit as of August 1, 2020. Athletes had to meet certain conditions in order for their additional help not to be included against a team’s sports scholarship limit in the past.
Softball teams will still have a scholarship cap, but student-athletes will be able to apply for as much need-based aid and academic scholarships as they qualify for. This regulatory change should allow softball programs to provide greater financial assistance to families and athletes in need, particularly at private institutions with higher tuition.
Why is it impossible to estimate the average softball scholarship?
To put it bluntly: Calculating an actual average softball scholarship is practically impossible. Any figure you come up with will be deceiving and will not serve as a decent barometer for how much money you should earn as an athlete. Instead, set yourself up to acquire many scholarship offers and utilize those to judge how much money you can get. Here are a few examples of why looking at an average softball scholarship can be deceiving:
Scholarship amounts will vary depending on the total cost of tuition at the school. For example, if tuition at School A is $20,000 per year and tuition at School B is $70,000 per year, the value of each individual scholarship will be significantly different. Because the entire tuition is higher, Institution B will technically have more money to distribute than School A if each school has 12 scholarships to provide.
Every coach will take a different approach to scholarship allocation. Some coaches prefer to distribute their scholarship funds to as many deserving athletes as possible. Others will allocate a higher quantity to specific positions or elite athletes while allocating a smaller sum to the rest of the team. Others, on the other hand, will combine the two mentalities. An average scholarship number will not account for these varied ideologies and will not provide you with a clear picture of how much money to expect during your recruiting effort.
Many athletes do not receive a scholarship until they are in their senior year. Because some coaches prefer to provide the majority of their scholarship money to upperclassmen who have earned their way through the system, an average scholarship number will not give a realistic picture of what an entering freshman might earn.
