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Liberty softball ranked No. 25 in three major polls to end season

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liberty basketballThe Liberty softball team is ranked No. 25 in three major national polls following the conclusion of a sensational 2021 season.

Liberty made its first-ever appearance in the D1Softball.com national poll this week, coming in at No. 25. The Lady Flames were also ranked 25th in the year-end USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.

This is the first time in program history that Liberty has appeared in the Top 25 in an end-of-season national poll. The Lady Flames made their first-ever appearance in both the NFCA and USA Softball Top 25 polls on May 11, coming in at No. 25. Liberty moved up to No. 24 in the NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll on May 18, which was the last poll to come out prior to the conclusion of the NCAA Division I Women’s Softball Championship.

The 2021 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Programs that did not compete in 2021 were not eligible for ranking consideration.

The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is voted on by coaching representatives of 10 Division I Conferences in the 10 USA Softball Regions as well as members of the national and local media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country.

Liberty is the first ASUN program since Florida Atlantic in 2002 to be ranked in the Top 25 in the final NFCA poll of the year, as the Owls came in at No. 25 that season.

The Lady Flames finished the 2021 season with a 44-15 record, including 16-2 in ASUN North Division play. Liberty, the No. 1 seed in the North Division, claimed its fourth conference tournament title by capturing the ASUN Softball Championship with a 5-4 win over Kennesaw State on May 15.

Competing in the NCAA Softball Championship for the fourth time, Liberty made its second appearance in a Regional final. The Lady Flames served as the No. 2 seed for the Knoxville Regional, eliminating Eastern Kentucky and the host No. 9 national seed Tennessee Lady Vols. Liberty fell to eventual Women’s College World Series semifinalist James Madison twice at the Regional.

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