HAMMOND, La. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference Tournament champion Southeastern Louisiana University softball team reached another milestone, making its debut at No. 25 in the latest NFCA/GoRout Division I Coaches Poll released Tuesday.
 
A strong 4-2 start at this past weekend's NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla. propelled a SLU squad that was receiving votes heading into the season into the Top 25 for the first time in program history.
 
After a 5-3 extra-inning loss to then-No. 13 Clemson in the season opener, followed by a 2-0 loss to South Alabama, the Lady Lions rolled to four straight victories. Southeastern closed out Friday's play with a 9-0 run-rule win over Longwood, before sweeping past Power Four conference members Rutgers and Boston College Saturday.
 
But it was the effort Sunday against 2025 WCWS participant and then-No. 5 Oregon that allowed the Lady Lions to earn their first-ever national ranking. SLU pitchers Hallie Burns, Haley Crawford, Macie LaRue and Cera Blanchard combined to hold the Ducks to four hits.
 
Shelby Morris had the key offensive showing versus OU, tripling home two runs in the top of the fifth inning to give SLU the lead for good in a win that feature the highest-ranked opponent ever defeated by the Lady Lions.
 
No. 25 Southeastern will open the home portion of its schedule Wednesday, welcoming Louisiana Tech at 5 p.m. to North Oak Park. Prior to the game, which is sponsored by First Guaranty Bank and will air on ESPN+, Southeastern will unveil the outfield signage commemorating last season's SLC Tournament championship.  
 
2026 NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll – 2/10/26 (Week 1)
 
Rank/Team (First-Place Votes) | Points | Record | Prev.
1. Texas Tech (25) | 767 | 6-0 | 2
2. Texas (5) | 720 | 4-1 | 1
3. Tennessee (1) | 716 | 5-0 | 4
4. Florida | 655 | 5-0 | 6
5. Oklahoma| 655 | 3-1 | 3
6. UCLA | 614 | 5-0 | 7
7. Florida State | 580 | 5-0 | 8
8. Texas A&M | 4-1 | 11
9. Arkansas | 464 | 4-1 | 9
10. Alabama | 454 | 5-0 | 16
11. Nebraska | 427 | 3-2 | 10
12. LSU | 426 | 6-0 | 16
13. Stanford | 399 | 5-0
14. Virginia Tech | 378 | 5-0 | 19
15. Oregon | 355 | 2-3 | 5
16. South Carolina | 262 | 3-2 | 12
17. Arizona | 260 | 3-2 | 17
18. Clemson | 242 | 3-2 | 13
19. Mississippi State | 229 | 4-0 | 22
20. Georgia | 199 | 4-1 | 20
21. Ole Miss | 144 | 3-2 | 14
22. Duke | 135 | 4-1 | 23
23. Florida Atlantic | 96 | 5-0 | RV
24. Virginia | 93 | 4-1 | RV
25. Southeastern | 65 | 4-2 | RV
 
Receiving Votes: Oklahoma State (63), Grand Canyon (57), Arizona State (47), Michigan (36), Ohio State (20), Auburn (15), Michigan State (10), North Florida (6), Liberty (5), Nevada (4), Belmont (3).
 
2026 Southeastern opponents in bold italics
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Softball, follow @LionUpSoftball on X and Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
 
HOME RUN CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the softball program are encouraged to join the Home Run Club. Lady Lion softball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Home Run Club and S Club (softball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern softball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern offers mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.