- Baker County softball team holds a 14-0 record and ranks No. 1 in Class 4A and No. 7 overall in Florida's FHSAA rankings.
- Baker County softball team received six of eight first-place votes with 157 total points, narrowly beating Montverde Academy's 154 points.
- Montverde Academy, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, will host Baker County on April 7 to settle the top ranking rivalry.
- Santa Fe, Trenton, and East Ridge complete the top five in the Prep Zone Power Poll for North Florida softball teams.
Heading into the week, the Baker County (Glen St. Mary) softball team was 14-0.
In Tuesday’s FHSAA rankings, they were ranked No. 1 in Class 4A and No. 7 overall in Florida.
It was enough to push the Wildcats to the top spot of The Prep Zone Power Poll, which ranks the top 20 teams across 26 counties in Florida.
Baker County, which went 8-0 (through 3/29) since the last all-classification regional rankings, moved up two spots and ahead of nationally ranked and previous No. 1 Montverde Academy, which dropped to second.
Montverde Academy, which is ranked No. 2 in Class 2A and No. 16 overall, entered this week with a 9-2 record, but the Eagles went 3-1 with a 5-1 loss at Class 6A No. 4 Bartow, which is ranked ninth overall in the state.
However, with six of the eight first-place votes, Baker County edged Montverde Academy in total voting points, 157-154, with Montverde Academy receiving the other two first-place votes.
The two teams will get to settle the dispute on the field when Montverde Academy hosts Baker County on Tuesday, April 7.
Two-time defending state champion Trenton dropped from second to third.
The Tigers (12-2) went 5-2 with a 3-2 loss at previous No. 14 Columbia (Lake City), 3-2, and a 1-0 loss in nine innings at receiving votes (RV) Gainesville.
They also had wins at previous No. 12 Branford, 13-3, and a 9-inning win at home versus previous No. 7 Santa Fe (Alachua), 4-3. The Tigers are ranked No. 1 in Rural & No. 11 overall in Florida in the latest FHSAA rankings.
Santa Fe, which entered the week at 15-2, moved up three spots to No. 4.
The Raiders, who are ranked No. 3 in 3A and 14th overall in Florida, will host RV GHS on Good Friday, followed by a home game against Trenton on Tuesday.
Class 7A East Ridge (Clermont) rounds out the top five.
The Knights entered the month of April with an 11-1 record, including a 5-0 mark since the last poll. They are ranked No. 4 in 7A and 23rd overall.
Class 1A University Christian (Jacksonville) leads off the second five at No. 6, followed by Columbia, Baldwin, Branford, and Paxon (Jacksonville) in the top 10.
Class 5A Matanzas (Palm Coast) (7-3), 5A Belleview (14-2), 2A Episcopal (Jacksonville) (9-4), and 6A Lake Minneola (10-2) dropped out of the rankings but are still receiving votes.
Meanwhile, Rural No. 4 Madison County (8-2), 5A Springstead (Spring Hill) (10-1), 7A Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (13-3), and 7A Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9-4) all moved into the rankings at Nos. 15, 17, 18, and 20, respectively.
In addition to Trenton, Santa Fe, Columbia, and Branford, other teams in the Mainstreet coverage area include Buchholz and GHS, who are each receiving votes.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball, baseball & softball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on by sportswriters and sportscasters, and it is powered by Be Well Fitness.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2026 SOFTBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 3/29, and total voting points)
Teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area are in bold
1. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (4A) (6) (14-0) – 157
2. Montverde Academy (2A) (2) (9-2) – 154
3. Trenton (Rural) (12-2) – 139
4. Santa Fe (Alachua) (3A) (15-2) – 134
5. East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (11-1) – 126
6. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (11-2) – 111
7. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (13-3) – 99
8. Baldwin (2A) (9-4) – 87
9. Branford (Rural) (12-5) – 75
10. Paxon (Jacksonville) (3A) (8-3) – 72
11. Crystal River (3A) (11-6) – 59
12. Eustis (3A) (6-5) – 55
13. Middleburg (5A) (8-5) – 49
14. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (2A) (10-9) – 48
15T. Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (6A) (11-2) – 39
15T. Madison County (Rural) (8-2) – 39
17. Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (10-1) – 36
18. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (13-3) – 35
19. West Nassau (Callahan) (3A) (8-5) – 33
20. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (9-4) – 32
Also receiving votes: Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (11-3) – 23; Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville) (2A) (10-2) – 17; Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (7-6) – 15; Belleview (5A) (14-2) – 15; Matanzas (Palm Coast) (5A) (7-3) – 11; Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (2A) (11-5) – 5; Lake Minneola (6A) (10-2) – 5; Episcopal (Jacksonville) (2A) (9-4) – 4; Deltona (5A) (8-3) – 3; Gainesville (5A) (7-6) – 2.