The No. 7 ranking tied for the highest preseason ranking Arkansas has garnered in the polls’ history and marked the fifth consecutive year Arkansas has posted a top 15 preseason ranking in the Softball America Preseason Top 25 poll after previous rankings of No. 13 (2025), No. 8 (2024), No. 7 (2023), and No. 10 (2022).
The Razorbacks were one of 12 SEC programs to garner a spot in the poll, the most by any conference, followed by the ACC and Big Ten, which had six and four teams, respectively.
Arkansas opens its 30th season of play and 11th season under the direction of head coach Courtney Deifel in Conway, S.C., at the Kickin’ Chicken Classic (Feb. 6-8). The Razorbacks will commence the season by facing Virginia (9 a.m.) and Akron (11:30 a.m.) on Friday, Feb. 6.
The Razorbacks return 349 total starts and 99.7 percent of innings pitched from a year ago, headlined by sophomore infielder Ella McDowell (58 starts, .352 avg., 10 2B, 7 HR, 54 RBI, .425 OBP) senior left-handed pitcher Robyn Herron (24 starts, 2.72 ERA, 18-7, 160 K), sophomore right-handed pitcher Payton Burnham (20 starts, 2.62 ERA, 16-2, 94 K) and senior center fielder Reagan Johnson (58 starts, .351 avg., 72 H, 20 SB, 53 R, .427 OBP). The Razorbacks also added a pair of transfers in two-time third-team NFCA All-America Dakota Kennedy in left field and two-time all-conference selection Tianna Bell at first base.
Arkansas opens its 30th season of play and 11th season under the direction of head coach Courtney Deifel in Conway, S.C., at the Kickin’ Chicken Classic (Feb. 6-8). The Razorbacks will commence the season by facing Virginia (9 a.m.) and Akron (11:30 a.m.) on Friday, Feb. 6. The Hogs are coming off a 44-14 mark in 2025, which featured their eighth-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth and fourth NCAA Super Regional appearance in program history, all of which have come under Deifel’s guidance
The Softball America Preseason Poll is among four nationally recognized polls in DI College Softball. The USA Today/ESPN, D1 Softball (Jan. 20), D1 Softball (TBD) and NFCA/GoRout D1 Coaches (Jan. 27) preseason polls will all be unveiled at later dates.
For schedule updates and other news, go to ArkansasRazorbacks.com, or follow @RazorbackSB on X, Instagram and Facebook.
2026 Softball America Preseason Top 25 Poll
1. Texas Tech
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma
4. Tennessee
5. Oregon
6. Florida State
7. Arkansas
8. UCLA
9. Clemson
10. Florida
11. Nebraska
12. LSU
13. Alabama
14. Texas A&M
15. Georgia
16. South Carolina
17. Arizona
18. Stanford
19. Oklahoma State
20. Duke
21. Mississippi State
22. Washington
23. Virginia
24. Virginia Tech
25. Ole Miss
Receiving Votes: FAU, Ohio State