The Arizona Wildcats once again rose in three polls and held steady in the fourth this week after sweeping BYU via three run-rule victories last week. That’s not the most important thing this week, though. The first RPI for the 2026 season was also released.
The Big 12 has three teams in the top 25 of the RPI and none in the top 10. That puts it in competition with the Big Ten for fourth in the Power 4 leagues.
Seven of the top 10 and 11 of the top 25 teams are in the SEC. The ACC has six teams in the top 25,
including one in the top 10. The Big Ten has just four teams in the top 25—three of which come from the old Pac-12—but two of those are in the top 10 and one is in the top 5.
The strength at the top is much better in the Big Ten than the Big 12, although the bottom of the Big Ten is weaker than the bottom of the Big 12. The Big 12 has 9 of its 11 teams in the top 50 while only 6 of the Big Ten’s 17 teams are in the top 50. No Big 12 teams are outside the top 150 while the Big Ten has three teams below that threshold.
Texas Tech is the top-ranked team in the Big 12 at No. 13. Baylor is second at No. 23 with Arizona just behind at No. 24.
The next group of teams is lead by Oklahoma State, which sits just outside the RPI top 25 at No. 26. UCF is just behind the Cowgirls at No. 27. Utah might take some by surprise at No. 34, and ASU follows them at 38th. The final two teams in the top 50 are Kansas (44) and Houston (45).
The final two teams sit outside the top 100. BYU is just outside at 109 while Iowa State’s No. 146 brings up the rear in the Big 12.
The weekly polls continue to think highly of the Big 12 regardless of what the RPI says. That includes the Arizona Wildcats, who impressed the voters with its conference-opening sweep of BYU.
Arizona is ranked highest by USA Softball this week. That organization has the team at No. 12, an improvement of two spots over last week.
The only poll that didn’t see the Wildcats rise is the one used as the official poll on this website. The NFCA voted UA to its highest position last week at No. 13. The coaches stayed consistent this week by keeping the team at No. 13.
D1 Softball agreed with the NFCA, placing the Wildcats 13th this week. The outlet had the team at No. 14 last week.
Softball America has the ‘Cats significantly lower than the other three rankings. That outlet has UA at No. 17. That’s an improvement of one spot in that ranking system but has Arizona behind both UCF, which jumped eight spots this week, and Oklahoma State, which lost 2 of 3 to UCF last week at home.
UA’s average ranking comes to 13.75 this week.
Arizona is one of four Big 12 teams in two of the rankings and one of five in the other two. In three of the four, it is the second-highest ranked team out of the conference. Only Softball America doesn’t have the Wildcats as the No. 2 team in the league.
NFCA places the Wildcats second in the Big 12 behind No. 2 Texas Tech. Oklahoma State comes in at No. 21, a drop of two spots after their 1-2 weekend. UCF is just behind the Cowgirls at No. 22, an improvement of two spots after they won 2 of 3 in Stillwater.
The NFCA still has Arizona State ranked, as well. The Sun Devils come in at No. 25. They dropped three spots after getting swept by Utah in Tempe. One of the Utes’ wins was a 15-0 run-rule victory. Utah scored a total of 35 runs off ASU’s pitching while allowing just 11 over three games. Utah is fourth on the “others receiving votes” list with 10 points.
The other ranking that has five Big 12 teams in the top 25 is Softball America, but that publication chose to go the other direction with the ASU-Utah matchup. SA has the Utes ranked No. 25. The other ranked teams from the conference are Texas Tech (2), UCF (15), and Oklahoma State (16).
USA Softball has Texas Tech (2), OSU (15), and UCF (22) in its rankings. ASU dropped out and is now the third team on the “others receiving votes” list with 12 points. Utah is fourth on the list with 9 points. Baylor’s 5 points has it tied with Belmont for 8th.
D1 Softball ranks Texas Tech (3), Oklahoma State (15), and UCF (17). ASU is also receiving votes from D1 Softball voters.
For Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe, teams coming in with good records and then challenging each other should set everyone up for the postseason. She’s already got her eye on the RPI.
“Really excited for just the growth of the whole conference and and how competitive it looks right now,” Lowe said.
The league should be front and center this week with title hopefuls Texas Tech and Arizona going at it in Lubbock.
“I think it’s just gonna make for some great softball, really, and prepare us for the later in the conference,” said Arizona centerfielder Regan Shockey. “I think it’s great that we’re playing them early on to really see things we need—both teams—need to work on, and players…maybe expose us and expose them.”
