Tampa Softball Expected to Win Third Consecutive SSC Title

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Sunshine State Conference coaches select Tampa as the 2025 preseason favorite. With 97 points and eight first-place votes in the poll, the Spartans are expected to grab the program's eighth league title. 

Nova Southeastern repeats as the coaches' pick for runner-up for the third time in a row with 91 points and two first-place votes. Saint Leo slides into third for a second straight year with 85 points and the final first-place vote. Rollins retakes fourth place in 2025 with 68 points, while Barry receives fifth place with 65 points, and Embry-Riddle occupies the middle of the poll with 58 points. Florida Tech (46 points), Palm Beach Atlantic (32 points), Eckerd (26 points), Florida Southern (26 points), and Lynn (11 points) round out this year's preseason ranking.

Tampa emerged on top of the SSC standings after a tight race for the 2024 league trophy. The Spartans finished with a 23-7 (.767) league record, narrowly edging Nova Southeastern 22-8 (.733) and Saint Leo 21-9 (.700). All three squads earned a return trip to the NCAA Division II Softball Tournament with NSU and Saint Leo landing in the South Region 1 tournament and UTampa heading to South Region 2.

Nova Southeastern defeated Saint Leo and Auburn-Montgomery to begin the playoffs but fell to AUM in both of their chances to advance to the super-regional. Saint Leo defeated Spring Hill before being knocked out by AUM. Tampa had two wins over Alabama-Huntsville, but fell to Mississippi College twice, including once in the championship final.

In 2023, NSU advanced to the NCAA D2 finals site, marking the 15th appearance in conference history and the first since Saint Leo made the trip in 2018. Florida Southern won the SSC's only softball national championship in 1993 and finished as runner-up in 1987 and 2004. Barry claimed the league's only other runner-up finish in 1998.

The first action of the 2025 season is slated for Friday, January 31st, with six teams in action. League play begins with five contests on Valentine's Day. Fans can find the composite schedule for 2024-25 here.

Below are the full results of the 2025 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).

 SSC Softball History: National Championships | Conference Champions | All-SSC Teams | SB Record Book