RTS heads to Athens this weekend for a Top 25 SEC matchup as No. 25 South Carolina (32-12, 7-8) visits No. 7 Georgia (34-10, 12-5). The Gamecocks and Bulldogs get the series started on Friday at 6:30 pm EST. Check-in on Twitter @Rounding3rdSB and on all RTS Social Media platforms for live in-game action and updates throughout the weekend.
Oregon Tech Tops NAIA Poll
Oregon Tech (36-5) is ranked No. 1 in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll. The Owls garnered 18 of 19 first-place votes. Our Lady of the Lake (38-4) comes in No. 2 with one vote.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Oregon Tech [18] | 36-5 | 529 |
| 2 | 2 | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) [1] | 38-4 | 512 |
| 3 | 3 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 36-3 | 495 |
| 4 | 5 | Southern Oregon | 31-7 | 465 |
| 5 | 7 | Oklahoma City | 33-7 | 449 |
| 6 | 6 | Texas A&M Texarkana | 28-3 | 442 |
| 7 | 4 | Baker (Kan.) | 28-6 | 438 |
| 8 | 8 | College of Idaho | 37-6 | 401 |
| 9 | 9 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 27-11 | 383 |
| 10 | 12 | Marian (Ind.) | 33-3 | 373 |
| 11 | 10 | Georgia Gwinnett | 32-9 | 370 |
| 12 | 13 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 37-2 | 356 |
| 13 | 11 | Middle Georgia State | 31-9 | 323 |
| 14 | 14 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 20-7 | 312 |
| 15 | 15 | Mobile (Ala.) | 28-11 | 278 |
| 16 | 17 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 33-6 | 273 |
| 17 | 18 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 24-8 | 241 |
| 17 | 16 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 26-12 | 241 |
| 19 | 19 | William Carey (Miss.) | 33-9 | 224 |
| 20 | 22 | Indiana Wesleyan | 28-10 | 213 |
| 21 | 21 | Coastal Georgia | 31-8 | 187 |
| 22 | 24 | Hope International (Calif.) | 29-9 | 140 |
| 23 | 23 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 25-11-1 | 125 |
| 24 | 25 | Eastern Oregon | 24-14 | 109 |
| 25 | 20 | Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) | 23-10 | 95 |
Dropped from the Top 25: N/A
Others Receiving Votes: Indiana Tech 92, Reinhardt (Ga.) 83, Friends (Kan.) 56, Missouri Baptist 47, Midland (Neb.) 39, Mount Mercy (Iowa) 23, Truett McConnell (Ga.)19, Saint Xavier (Ill.) 15, Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 12, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 9, Bellevue (Neb.) 7, Oklahoma Wesleyan 7, Jessup (Calif.) 6, Madonna (Mich.) 4, Dordt (Iowa) 3.
Southeast Arkansas Hires Hendrix To Lead New Program
Belinda Hendrix has been hired as the first head coach for the new program at JUCO Southeast Arkansas College. Hendrix spent 17 seasons leading the program at Chipola College, where the program won three National Championships. She spent the 2022 season at East Tennessee State before being terminated last November after complaints of a “unhealthy team culture”. Hendrix husband, Jimmy Hendrix, will also be joining her staff at Southeast Arkansas after resigning from Arkansas State Mid-South after being hired to start that new program in February.
Two Surging Newcomers Join Top 25 Poll
Oklahoma (39-1) and UCLA (39-4) stay in the top spots in this week’s D1 Softball Top 25, while surging Central Arkansas (31-8) and South Carolina (30-12) enter for the first time.
| Rank | Team | Overall Record | Record Last Week | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma | 39-1 | 3-0 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 39-4 | 3-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Tennessee | 34-5 | 4-0 | 7 |
| 4 | Oklahoma State | 39-4 | 4-1 | 3 |
| 5 | Florida State | 35-8 | 3-1 | 4 |
| 6 | Clemson | 40-5 | 3-1 | 8 |
| 7 | Georgia | 33-10 | 2-2 | 6 |
| 8 | Duke | 36-8 | 6-0 | 13 |
| 9 | Texas | 36-9-1 | 3-1 | 9 |
| 10 | Stanford | 31-9 | 0-3 | 5 |
| 11 | Arkansas | 31-12 | 3-1 | 12 |
| 12 | Washington | 31-9 | 2-1 | 10 |
| 13 | Alabama | 32-12 | 4-0 | 15 |
| 14 | LSU | 34-10 | 1-3 | 11 |
| 15 | Baylor | 34-10 | 4-1 | 16 |
| 16 | Northwestern | 28-9 | 4-0 | 18 |
| 17 | Utah | 28-8 | 4-0 | 22 |
| 18 | Florida | 31-11 | 3-1 | 23 |
| 19 | Oregon | 28-11 | 3-0 | 17 |
| 20 | Auburn | 32-13 | 3-1 | NR |
| 21 | Texas A&M | 26-16 | 2-3 | 14 |
| 22 | Wichita State | 36-8 | 2-1 | 21 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 25-13-1 | 1-3 | 19 |
| 24 | Central Arkansas | 31-8 | 4-0 | NR |
| 25 | South Carolina | 30-12 | 3-1 | NR |
| Dropped Out | ||||
| Virginia Tech | 32-12 | 1-3 | 20 | |
| Indiana | 31-15 | 1-4 | 24 | |
| Louisiana | 33-12 | 3-2 | 25 | |
Jax State Facility To Be Named For Coach McGinnis
On Sunday Jacksonville State honored their head coach Jana McGinnis for her 1,000th career victory with naming the field in which many of those wins came in honor of their leader. Jax State President Dr. Don Killingsworth announced as part of the festivities that the Gamecocks Facility would be dedicated as Jana McGinnis Field. McGinnis is in her 30th season leading JSU and holds a 1,009-568 career record. She became the 12th active coach in Division I with 1,000 career wins and just the 33rd coach in Division I history to reach the milestone.
GMC Coach Bunn Earns 400th Coaching Victory
Georgia Military College Head Coach Ashley Bunn picked up her 400th career coaching victory in a 6-2 win over Gordon State on Saturday. Bunn is in her 13th season coaching the Bulldogs and holds a 400-261 overall record.
Softball Enters The World Of Online Betting
Bovada, an online sports betting company, seems to now be offering numerous game lines and odds for collegiate softball. Four games appeared on their site today (three from the Pac 12 and one from the Big 12). This is believed to be the first opportunity for the general public to lay bets Vegas Style on softball.
USA Softball Announces National Team Roster And Staff
USA Softball has announced their coaching staff and roster for the Women’s National Team. Washington Head Coach Heather Tarr returns to head the team, while she will be assisted by Central Florida Head Coach Cindy Ball-Malone, Georgia Head Coach Tony Baldwin, and Florida Head Coach Tim Walton. The roster consists of 15 veterans to the WNT and one newcomer representing six current and 10 former collegiate student-athletes. The team will compete in the WBSC World Cup-Group A event slated to take place July 11-15 in Fingal-Dublin, Ireland. The complete Women’s National Team Roster can be found at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/Team-USA/Women
RTS Heads To EIU/TTU OVC Series
RTS steps into the Ohio Valley Conference this weekend as Eastern Illinois (21-15, 9-2) travels to Tennessee Tech (3-34, 0-12). The Panthers and Golden Eagles get the three-game OVC Series started on Friday at 4 pm CST. Check-in on Twitter @Rounding3rdSB and on all RTS Social Media platforms for live in-game action and updates throughout the weekend.
NDSCS Tops NJCAA DIII Poll
For the second straight NJCAA DIII Poll, North Dakota State College of Science (10-9) is ranked No. 1.
| Place | Team | Points | Record | First Place Votes | Previous Rank | ||
| 1 | North Dakota SCS | 70 | 10-9 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Brookdale | 54 | 11-3 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 3 | Caldwell Tech | 48 | 18-14 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 4 | Corning | 42 | 12-7 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 5 | Surry | 36 | 20-14 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 6 | RCSJ Gloucester | 30 | 16-8 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 7 | St. Cloud Tech | 24 | 19-4 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 8 | Patrick & Henry | 18 | 17-9 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 9 | Anoka-Ramsey | 12 | 21-9 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 10 | DuPage | 4 | 13-3 | 0 | RV |
Receiving Votes: Onondaga, Suffolk County