Every year NCSA releases their Power Rankings, created based on proprietary analysis of NCSA Favorites data from the college search activity of more than two million student-athletes on the NCSA recruiting network, U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges, IPEDS graduation rates and IPEDS average cost after aid.
1,110 4-year colleges provide an opportunity for softball players to continue to compete on the collegiate level. Amongst the Top 100 rankings are schools at the NCAA Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3 levels.
Once you’ve identified that this level is the right fit, there are 250 schools that you could potentially call home. Being a student-athlete at a D1 schools requires a lot of dedication. Be sure to research your options and ask a lot of questions during your visits to be sure it is the right fit.
The NCAA Division 2 level has 150 colleges with softball teams. D2 schools can be just as competitive as D1 schools. Some athletes dream of having a D1 experience but ultimately find that D2 is a better fit and an easier transition from high school to college athletics. Consider our top 5 schools below.
Looking for a small, competitive team but to still have enough time to pursue your other hobbies and interests outside of softball? D3 may be the right fit for you! There are more than 400 softball colleges competing at the NCAA Division 3 level.
When you are creating your list of schools, consider adding a few NAIA schools to go and visit. There are about 150 colleges that have softball teams at the NAIA level. While an NAIA college might not have been the school you grew up dreaming about, you might find it is just what you are looking for in a school and team.
Top 50 NAIA Softball Colleges
NCSA is the world's largest and most successful collegiate athletic recruiting network. A wholly owned subsidiary of Reigning Champs LLC, NCSA's 700 teammates leverage exclusive data, proprietary matching algorithms and personal relationships built over nearly two decades as the industry leader to connect tens of thousands of college-bound student-athletes to more than 35,000 college coaches nationwide across 34 sports every year.