LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ahead of its season opener on Friday, the St. Olaf College softball team moved up one spot to a program-best No. 13 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 released on Wednesday.
The No. 13 ranking is the highest ranking in program history, as St. Olaf rose one spot from its No. 14 ranking in the NFCA preseason poll released on Feb. 3. It marked the seventh time in program history the Oles have earned a national ranking from the NFCA.
St. Olaf was one of two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) teams to be ranked in the top 25 along with St. Catherine, which entered the poll at No. 19 following its sweep of then-No. 21 UW-La Crosse on Sunday.
The Oles open their season by taking on St. Thomas on Friday, March 12 in a non-conference doubleheader at the Dundas Dome.
The games will be streamed online here.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – March 10, 2021
| Rank |
Team |
2021 Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1. |
East Texas Baptist (8) |
8-0 |
200 |
1 |
| 2. |
Texas Lutheran |
4-2 |
192 |
2 |
| 3. |
Virginia Wesleyan |
10-1 |
184 |
4 |
| 4. |
Christopher Newport |
9-3 |
176 |
3 |
| 5. |
Salisbury |
2-4 |
168 |
5 |
| 6. |
Linfield |
7-1 |
160 |
6 |
| 7. |
DePauw |
8-0 |
152 |
9 |
| 8. |
Kean |
0-0 |
144 |
8 |
| 9. |
Berry |
8-1 |
136 |
10 |
| 10. |
St. John Fisher |
0-0 |
128 |
11 |
| 11. |
Transylvania |
7-0 |
120 |
12 |
| 12. |
Birmingham-Southern |
15-2 |
106 |
18 |
| 13. |
St. Olaf |
0-0 |
103 |
14 |
| 14. |
Milwaukee School of Engineering |
0-0 |
95 |
15 |
| 15. |
Eastern Connecticut State |
0-0 |
86 |
16 |
| 16. |
Carthage |
0-0 |
77 |
17 |
| 17. |
Moravian |
0-0 |
70 |
19 |
| 18. |
Geneseo |
0-0 |
54 |
20 |
| 19. |
St. Catherine |
2-0 |
50 |
NR |
| T-20. |
Trine |
0-0 |
41 |
22 |
|
Wartburg |
7-1 |
41 |
NR |
| 22. |
Randolph-Macon |
0-0 |
28 |
23 |
| 23. |
Tufts |
0-0 |
18 |
24 |
| 24. |
Carroll (Wis.) |
2-0 |
17 |
NR |
| 25. |
Belhaven |
11-3 |
14 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Central (Iowa) 13, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 11, Wisconsin-La Crosse 9, Illinois Wesleyan 6, Rowan 1.
Dropped out: Averett, Ferrum, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Manhattanville, Maryville (Tenn.), Mount Union, Williams and Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
St. Olaf Poll History
| 4/18/1996 |
4/25/1996 |
5/23/1996 |
3/5/1997 |
4/4/1997 |
4/8/2020 |
2/3/2021 |
3/10/2021 |
| No. 23 |
No. 18 |
No. 20 |
No. 20 |
No. 24 |
No. 22 |
No. 14 |
No. 13 |
