- Baker County and Montverde Academy are tied for the top-ranked softball teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll with 155 voting points each.
- Columbia high school advanced to No. 3 in the rankings after a nine-game winning streak and key victories over ranked teams.
- East Ridge has an 11-game winning streak since April 1, and FHSAA district softball tournaments start this week across 26 Florida counties.
The only top-ranked softball teams this season in The Prep Zone Power Poll are now on top together heading into postseason play.
FHSAA district tournaments begin this week, and the area is well-represented in the all-classification poll, which ranks the top 20 softball teams across 26 counties in Florida.
Class 4A Baker County (Glen St. Mary), which was previously the No. 1 team, and Montverde Academy, which was on top of the preseason and second polls of the year, each received 155 total voting points from eight voters to tie for the top-ranked spot.
Montverde Academy, which is the No. 1 seed in this week’s Class 2A-District 7 tournament, received more first-place votes, 5-3, which was likely due to its 5-2 win at Baker County on April 15.
That has been the only loss for the Wildcats (21-1) this season, who are ranked No. 1 in Class 4A and fifth overall in the state in the FHSAA rankings. The Eagles (17-4) are ranked No. 2 in Class 2A and 16th overall.
Columbia (Lake City), which is ranked No. 2 in 4A and sixth overall in the FHSAA rankings, moved up four spots from seventh to No. 3 since the last regional rankings.
The Class 4A Tigers (22-3) have won nine in a row. They won at previous No. 9 Branford, 5-4, last week, and defeated receiving votes (RV) Buchholz, No. 4 Santa Fe (Alachua) on the road, and Palatka at home the previous week.
Their only losses were at previous No. 3 Trenton, 4-1, in the season opener, at home against Santa Fe, 13-2, and at Class 6A No. 2 Bartow, 4-0, on March 27.
They avoided sweeps with a 2-0 win in eight innings at Santa Fe on April 16, and they also split the series with Trenton with a 3-2 win at home on March 12.
Santa Fe (20-3), which is ranked No. 2 in Class 3A and 11th overall, and East Ridge (Clermont), which is ranked No. 3 in 7A & 20th overall, are tied for fourth to round out the top five.
East Ridge (22-2) has won 11 in a row since a 2-1 loss against nationally ranked and No. 1 overall in Florida, Doral Academy, on April 1.
Trenton, which dropped three spots, leads off the second five at No. 6.
The Tigers (19-3), whose only losses were 3-2 at No. 4 Santa Fe (4/7), 1-0 in nine innings at No. 18 GHS (3/26), and 3-2 at No. 3 Columbia (Lake City) on March 12, are ranked No. 1 in Rural and 13th overall.
University Christian (Jacksonville), which is ranked No. 1 in 1A and 36th overall, is ranked seventh, followed by 6A Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (21-2), 2A Baldwin (17-6), and 3A Eustis (16-6) in the top 10.
In addition to Columbia, Santa Fe, and Trenton, there are four other teams in the Mainstreet coverage area who are ranked or receiving votes.
Branford is ranked 15th. The Bucs (16-8) are ranked No. 5 in Rural and 60th overall.
Gainesville High moved into the rankings and is tied with district foe Belleview (21-3) at No. 18. The Hurricanes, who have won seven in a row, are ranked No. 6 in 5A and 48th overall.
GHS (13-6) is the No. 1 seed in its district and will play for the Class 5A-District 5 title on Thursday against either Belleview or RV Deltona.
Williston (11-9), the No. 2 seed in this week’s Rural-District 7 tournament, and Buchholz (17-8), the No. 2 seed in Class 6A-District 3, are receiving votes.
Previous No. 11 Crystal River (16-8), No. 14 Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (12-11), and No. 19 West Nassau (Callahan) (14-10) dropped out of the rankings.
That opened the door for previously unranked Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (16-7), Belleview (21-3), and Episcopal (Jacksonville) (16-5) to move in at Nos. 11, 18, and 20, respectively.
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 #4
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, final regular season record, and total voting points)
Teams in bold are inside the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area
1T. Montverde Academy (2A) (5) (17-4) – 155
1T. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (4A) (3) (21-1) – 155
3. Columbia (Lake City) (4A) (22-3) – 130
4T. Santa Fe (Alachua) (3A) (20-3) – 129
4T. East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (22-2) – 129
6. Trenton (Rural) (19-3) – 128
7. University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (15-4) – 107
8. Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (6A) (21-2) – 96
9. Baldwin (2A) (17-6) – 85
10. Eustis (3A) (16-6) – 80
11. Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (16-7) – 75
12. Springstead (Spring Hill) (5A) (17-2) – 54
13. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (19-5) – 50
14. Madison County (Rural) (15-3) – 48
15. Branford (Rural) (16-8) – 46
16T. Paxon (Jacksonville) (3A) (13-7) – 35
16T. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (16-7) – 35
18T. Gainesville (5A) (13-6) – 31
18T. Belleview (5A) (21-3) – 31
20. Episcopal (Jacksonville) (2A) (16-5) – 24
Also receiving votes: Crystal River (16-8) – 12; Middleburg (5A) (12-14) – 10; Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (17-8) – 7; Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (2A) (12-11) – 6; West Nassau (Callahan) (3A) (14-10) – 5; Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville) (2A) (14-6) – 5; Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (2A) (16-8) – 5; Williston (Rural) (11-9) – 3; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (3A) (19-4) – 2; Deltona (5A) (12-4) – 2.