Liberty Softball Ranked No. 25 in Final Softball America Poll
6/11/2024 2:23:00 PM | Softball
The Liberty softball team is ranked No. 25 in the Softball America national poll following the conclusion of the 2024 season.
Additionally, the Lady Flames received 26 votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
This is the third time in program history that Liberty has appeared in the Top 25 in an end-of-season national poll. The Lady Flames were ranked No. 25 by D1Softball.com, NFCA and USA Softball in the final poll of 2021. Last year, Liberty finished the season ranked No. 25 in the D1Softball.com national poll.
The Lady Flames (38-25) won both the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles, becoming the first team since 2015 (WKU) to win the CUSA championship in its first year in the league. Liberty earned a program-record six victories over Top 25 opponents, including wins over No. 10 LSU and No. 11 Georgia. The Lady Flames made their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, qualifying for the Regional final for the second year in a row and fourth time in the last six years. The squad finished the season with an RPI of 31 and the second toughest nonconference strength of schedule in the nation.
Liberty is one out of three teams outside of the Power Five conferences to compete in NCAA Regionals all four years since after the CoVID-shortened 2020 season. The other two are Louisiana and Miami (Ohio). The Lady Flames are also one of six NCAA Division I softball teams to win 16 or more conference games in every full season since 2016, joining Cal State Fullerton, Florida State, Louisiana, Oklahoma and UCLA.
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This season saw the Lady Flames achieve the following firsts
Additionally, the Lady Flames received 26 votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
This is the third time in program history that Liberty has appeared in the Top 25 in an end-of-season national poll. The Lady Flames were ranked No. 25 by D1Softball.com, NFCA and USA Softball in the final poll of 2021. Last year, Liberty finished the season ranked No. 25 in the D1Softball.com national poll.
The Lady Flames (38-25) won both the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles, becoming the first team since 2015 (WKU) to win the CUSA championship in its first year in the league. Liberty earned a program-record six victories over Top 25 opponents, including wins over No. 10 LSU and No. 11 Georgia. The Lady Flames made their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, qualifying for the Regional final for the second year in a row and fourth time in the last six years. The squad finished the season with an RPI of 31 and the second toughest nonconference strength of schedule in the nation.
Liberty is one out of three teams outside of the Power Five conferences to compete in NCAA Regionals all four years since after the CoVID-shortened 2020 season. The other two are Louisiana and Miami (Ohio). The Lady Flames are also one of six NCAA Division I softball teams to win 16 or more conference games in every full season since 2016, joining Cal State Fullerton, Florida State, Louisiana, Oklahoma and UCLA.
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This season saw the Lady Flames achieve the following firsts
- First run-rule victory over a Top 25 team (Def. No. 25 Penn State 9-1 (5), Feb. 23)
- Became the first team since WKU in 2015 to win Conference USA title in first year in the conference
- Became the first CUSA team since DePaul in 2004 to win the Conference USA Tournament after losing its first game at the tournament
- First season-opening walk-off homer (Rachel Roupe vs. St. John's, Feb. 9)
Top 25! The ?? are ranked 25th in the @SoftbalAmerica Poll! This is the third time in the last four years that Liberty has finished a season ranked inside the Top 25! pic.twitter.com/5ctfUsA0Ht
— Liberty Softball (@LibertySB) June 11, 2024
Players Mentioned
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