Yup, I did it. I slid Oklahoma State down a notch this week and bumped Kansas up to #3. I know that Cowgirl fans are going to look at the record for the Jayhawks and question how I can put them at #3. In return, though, I’m going to look at OSU’s loss to BYU on Friday and question how I couldn’t have dropped them.
2024 Heartland Sports Big 12 Softball Power Rankings, Week 8
| Ranking | Record | Last Week’s Ranking |
| 1. Oklahoma | 31-1 | #1 |
| 2. Texas | 28-3 | #2 |
| 3. Kansas | 22-8-1 | #4 |
| 4. Oklahoma State | 26-5 | #3 |
| 5. Texas Tech | 21-8 | #5 |
| 6. Houston | 19-12 | #6 |
| 7. UCF | 14-14 | #7 |
| 8. Iowa State | 11-16 | #8 |
| 9. BYU | 17-12 | #10 |
| 10. Baylor | 17-11 | #9 |
Notes
- Just some slight movement this week as four teams find themselves in a different spot from a week ago.
- Oklahoma remains as the only Big 12 team not to have a loss in conference play.
How Oklahoma Compares Against The Big 12
Batting
Oklahoma and Baylor were the only two teams in the Big 12 to see their batting averages climb from last week. The Sooners have finally taken over the top spot for batting average in the conference.
| RANK | TEAM | AVG | G |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OKLAHOMA | .395 | 32 |
| 2 | TEXAS | .391 | 31 |
| 3 | BYU | .325 | 29 |
| 4 | OKLAHOMA STATE | .321 | 31 |
| 5 | HOUSTON | .321 | 31 |
| 6 | TEXAS TECH | .312 | 29 |
| 7 | UCF | .292 | 28 |
| 8 | IOWA STATE | .288 | 27 |
| 9 | BAYLOR | .283 | 28 |
| 10 | KANSAS | .278 | 31 |
Worth Noting: Oklahoma finally takes over as the top hitting team in the Big 12. The Sooners hit 13 home runs last week. The Sooners lead the Big 12 in home runs with 69. The next closest to the program is Oklahoma State with 44 home runs.
Best on the Team: Rylie Boone’s .481 batting average is the second highest in the Big 12.
Pitching
Oklahoma gets the top spot back in batting average but took a dip in ERA, dropping them to #2 in the conference this week.
| RANK | TEAM | ERA |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEXAS | 1.26 |
| 2 | OKLAHOMA | 1.37 |
| 3. | OKLAHOMA STATE | 1.91 |
| 4 | KANSAS | 2.22 |
| 5 | UCF | 3.04 |
| 6 | BAYLOR | 3.04 |
| 7 | TEXAS TECH | 4.18 |
| 8 | HOUSTON | 4.85 |
| 9 | BYU | 4.87 |
| 10 | IOWA STATE | 5.92 |
Worth Noting: The Sooners have three pitchers ranked in the Top 10 of the Big 12, in ERA. Karlie Keeney is #5, Kelly Maxwell is #6 and Nicole May is #10.
Best on the Team: Keeney leads Oklahoma’s pitching staff with a 1.25 ERA. Her record on the season is 3-1 and she’s fanned 20 batters.
Fielding
Oklahoma’s fielding percentage dropped a little from last week. They’re still the top defensive team in the conference but UCF is really pushing them.
| RANK | TEAM | FLD% |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OKLAHOMA | 0.986 |
| 2 | UCF | 0.984 |
| 3 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 0.980 |
| 4 | HOUSTON | 0.977 |
| 5 | TEXAS TECH | 0.973 |
| 6 | KANSAS | 0.967 |
| 7 | BAYLOR | 0.965 |
| 8 | BYU | 0.964 |
| 9 | TEXAS | 0.960 |
| 10 | IOWA STATE | 0.958 |
Worth Noting: The Sooners have committed the fewest errors in the Big 12 with eleven.
Best on the Team: Riley Ludlam is one of just eight players in the conference to have a perfect fielding percentage.
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