The Big 12 softball conference kicked off the conference portion of its season with a full slate of games over the weekend. Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and UCF all secured series victories, but the Sooners were the only team in the conference to sweep their opponent and they stand alone at the top of the conference rankings.
2024 Heartland Sports Big 12 Softball Power Rankings, Week 6
| Ranking | Record | Last Week’s Ranking |
| 1. Oklahoma | 22-1 | #2 |
| 2. Texas | 21-2 | #1 |
| 3. Oklahoma State | 20-3 | #3 |
| 4. Texas Tech | 19-5 | #5 |
| 5. Baylor | 14-5 | #4 |
| 6. BYU | 15-6 | #6 |
| 7. UCF | 14-8 | #9 |
| 8. Houston | 17-7 | #7 |
| 9. Kansas | 14-7-1 | #8 |
| 10. Iowa State | 9-13 | #10 |
Notes
- After having just two teams move spots in last week’s rankings, this week brings us only two teams remaining in the same place as last week – Oklahoma State (#3) and Iowa State (#10).
- Oklahoma takes over the top spot once again, thanks to the Houston Cougars upsetting Texas to open their series on Friday night.
How Oklahoma Compares Against The Big 12
Batting
Oklahoma’s team batting average took an upward trend last week, rising to .388. At the same time, Texas took a dip which brings the Sooners closer to the top spot in the conference.
| RANK | TEAM | AVG | G |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEXAS | .401 | 23 |
| 2 | OKLAHOMA | .388 | 23 |
| 3 | BYU | .353 | 21 |
| 4 | OKLAHOMA STATE | .333 | 23 |
| 5 | HOUSTON | .332 | 24 |
| 6 | UCF | .318 | 22 |
| 7 | TEXAS TECH | .316 | 24 |
| 8 | KANSAS | .298 | 22 |
| 9 | IOWA STATE | .295 | 22 |
| 10 | BAYLOR | .279 | 19 |
Worth Noting: Oklahoma hit 11 home runs last week. The Sooners lead the Big 12 in home runs with 44.
Best on the Team: Kasidi Pickering leads the Sooners with a .456 batting average. She has three home runs on the season and has knocked in 17 RBIs.
Pitching
Texas finally saw it’s team ERA climb north of 1.00 over the weekend. The Longhorns still have the best ERA in the league but it’s a pretty close race between them, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State.
| RANK | TEAM | ERA | W-L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEXAS | 1.22 | 21-2 |
| 2 | OKLAHOMA | 1.32 | 22-1 |
| 3. | OKLAHOMA STATE | 1.52 | 20-3 |
| 4 | BAYLOR | 2.08 | 14-5 |
| 5 | KANSAS | 2.39 | 14-7 |
| 6 | UCF | 2.64 | 14-8 |
| 7 | TEXAS TECH | 2.96 | 19-5 |
| 8 | BYU | 3.87 | 15-6 |
| 9 | HOUSTON | 4.25 | 17-7 |
| 10 | IOWA STATE | 6.04 | 9-13 |
Worth Noting: The Sooners have four pitchers ranked in the Top 10 of the Big 12, in ERA. Kierston Deal is #3 in the conference, Karlie Keeney is #6, Kelly Maxwell is #8, and Nicole May is #9.
Best on the Team: Kierston Deal is one of three pitchers in the conference with an ERA below 1.00. She is currently at 0.85 and has a 5-0 record with 29 strikeouts on the season.
Fielding
The Sooners are holding on as the top defensive team in the conference but UCF and Oklahoma State are trying to make a charge at them.
| RANK | TEAM | FLD% |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OKLAHOMA | 0.988 |
| 2 | UCF | 0.982 |
| 3 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 0.981 |
| 4 | HOUSTON | 0.972 |
| 5 | TEXAS TECH | 0.972 |
| 6 | KANSAS | 0.967 |
| 7 | BYU | 0.966 |
| 8 | BAYLOR | 0.966 |
| 9 | IOWA STATE | 0.957 |
| 10 | TEXAS | 0.955 |
Worth Noting: Oklahoma played error free in it’s four games last week and have committed the fewest errors in the Big 12 with just seven.
Best on the Team: We’re down to eleven players across the conference with a perfect fielding percentage. Oklahoma’s Cydney Sanders and Riley Ludlam are among them.
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