Texas Tech is now in the top spot. The Red Raiders are hot, winning their last 13 games, while Texas, which dropped from No. 1 to No. 4, has lost three of its last four. But there will be little time for the Longhorns to recover. They have a big three-game series this weekend against No. 2 Oklahoma, which is on track to have the best season at the plate in college softball history. Closer to the bottom of the top 25, Arizona State dropped out of the rankings while South Carolina found its was back in.

Player to watch

Elon Butler, OF, Oregon

The senior earned Big Ten player of the week honors after notching six hits in Oregon’s extra-innings win over Iowa. In that game, she also became the first player in Oregon history to hit for the cycle. Over the three-game series against Iowa, Butler hit .583.

Top moment

Still thinking about this @Avacarroll2023 play 😱#NCAASoftball #SCTop10 x 🎥 ACCNX / @UWSoftball

pic.twitter.com/WtFHahvApI

— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) April 3, 2026

This diving catch-into-double-play by Washington outfielder Ava Carroll played no small part in Washington’s tough win over then-No. 24 Stanford.

Series to watch

No. 2 Oklahoma at No. 4 Texas
Friday at 7 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday at 8 p.m., ESPN
Sunday at 2 p.m., ESPN

Perhaps the most consequential series of the regular season is here. The rivals will face off with the country’s top ranking — maybe — on the line. Texas is coming off two consecutive uncharacteristic losses to Alabama while the home run-hitting Sooners have won five straight.

How to watch

Everything college softball on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, Big 12 Now on ESPN+, ESPN3, ESPN+, SEC Network+ and ACCNX is accessible here, in addition to being available on the ESPN App.

What’s the full schedule?

You can check out the complete scoreboard here to stay up to date this spring.

Subscribe to ESPN | Stream college softball on ESPN

Week 9 Top 25

Here is the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 ranking, plus each team’s record and next game.
All times Eastern.

1. Texas Tech

Previous rank: 2
Record: 38-2

Next game: Friday at Utah, 7 p.m., ESPN+

2. Oklahoma

Previous rank: 3
Record: 38-3

Next game: Friday at Texas, 7 p.m., ESPN2

3. Alabama

Previous rank: 5
Record: 35-3

Next game: Tuesday vs. South Alabama, 6 p.m., SEC Network+

4. Texas

Previous rank: 1
Record: 32-4

Next game: Friday vs. Oklahoma, 7 p.m., ESPN2

5. Nebraska

Previous rank: 4
Record: 30-6

Next game: Friday at Wisconsin, 8 p.m., Big Ten Network

6. Arkansas

Previous rank: 6
Record: 33-5

Next game: Friday at Mississippi State, 6 p.m., SEC Network+

7. Florida

Previous rank: 7
Record: 36-5

Next game: Wednesday vs. USF, 7 p.m., ESPN2

8. UCLA

Previous rank: 9
Record: 33-5

Next game: Tuesday at Cal State Fullerton, 9 p.m., ESPN+

9. Florida State

Previous rank: 10
Record: 35-4

Next game: Wednesday at Santa Clara, 9 p.m., ESPN+

10. Tennessee

Previous rank: 8
Record: 32-6

Next game: Tuesday vs. ETSU, 6 p.m., SEC Network+

11. Arizona

Previous rank: 13
Record: 29-9

Next game: Friday at LSU, 7 p.m., SEC Network+

12. Virginia Tech

Previous rank: 12
Record: 33-5

Next game: Tuesday at Radford, 5 p.m., ESPN+

13. Texas A&M

Previous rank: 15
Record: 26-12

Next game: Wednesday vs. McNeese, 7 p.m., SEC Network+

14. Georgia

Previous rank: 11
Record: 28-10

Next game: Wednesday vs. USC-Upstate, 6 p.m., SEC Network+

15. Mississippi State

Previous rank: 16
Record: 33-9

Next game: Friday vs. Arkansas, 6 p.m., SEC Network+

16. Duke

Previous rank: 19
Record: 28-11

Next game: Wednesday at Liberty, 3 p.m., ESPN+

17. Oregon

Previous rank: 18
Record: 29-9

Next game: Friday at Maryland, 6 p.m., Big Ten Network

18. LSU

Previous rank: 20
Record: 25-13

Next game: Tuesday vs. Central Arkansas, 7 p.m., SEC Network+

19. Washington

Previous rank: 14
Record: 31-9

Next game: Friday vs. Minnesota, 10 p.m., Big Ten Network

20. Oklahoma State

Previous rank: 21
Record: 25-10

Next game: Wednesday at Wichita State, 7 p.m., ESPN+

21. Virginia

Previous rank: 17
Record: 31-6

Next game: Wednesday vs. Louisiana, 6 p.m., ACC Extra

22. UCF

Previous rank: 25
Record: 30-10-1

Next game: Friday at Arizona State, 9 p.m., ESPN+

23. Stanford

Previous rank: 24
Record: 22-12

Next game: Tuesday at UC Davis, 6 p.m., ESPN+

24. South Carolina

Previous rank: NR
Record: 23-17

Next game: Friday vs. Florida, 6 p.m., SEC Network

25. Grand Canyon

Previous rank: 22
Record: 37-4

Next game: Wednesday at Fresno State, 3 p.m.

Robert Griffin III wore a few different jerseys during his NFL career as he’s spent time with the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens in eight seasons.

Griffin is hoping to don three more colors by the time the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics roll around – red, white and blue.

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The one-time Pro Bowler received an invitation last month to Team USA flag football training games as the squad prepares for the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) world championships later this year. The first round of training camp will be held April 16-19 and the second round will be held May 21-24.

“That is the goal, and we’ve already taken the first step in that process,” Griffin told TMZ Sports of making the Olympic team. “It’s 2026. What we’re all fighting for is to be a part of the 12 that goes to Germany and plays in the IFAF 2026 World Championships. Team USA, since (Darrell Doucette III) has joined the team, has not lost a game. I think they’re the five-time reigning IFAF world champions. They are doing this at a high level and all I’m trying to do is add to that greatness.

GIANTS COACH SHARES WISDOM FOR JAXSON DART AFTER WORKING WITH PATRICK MAHOMES IN KANSAS CITY

Cleveland Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III warms up before the game against the Chicago Bears at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 1, 2016. (Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports)

“But in 2028, I’ve already put that and said that is the goal. I want to go for gold with Team USA and I’m just going through every single step to make that happen and respecting these guys and respecting the flag football community along the way.”

Following the final training camp, a selection committee will trim the list of possible players from 24 to 18 for a third camp in June. The committee will then take the best 12 players for the world championships, taking place Aug. 13-16.

Team USA quarterback Darrell Doucette III carries the ball during the Fanatics Flag Football Classic at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 21, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

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Darell Doucette III has already proven to be one of the best flag football players in the world, as he led Team USA to victories in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic against NFL players.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Editor’s note: This story, which was originally published March 26 before the start of the NCAA tournament, has been updated.

AS A BLUE-BLOOD college hockey power stacked with high-end talent, Michigan’s expectations never waver. It’s a program built on nine national championships, where the postseason isn’t about participation, but what happens next.

For star sophomore Michael Hage, the fact the path to a national title runs through Las Vegas this year — the site of the Frozen Four — includes an element of karmic fate.

It was in Las Vegas where one of the most significant moments of Hage’s hockey career occurred. The 19-year-old center doesn’t remember everything about his NHL draft night at the Sphere in June 2024: not the exact sequence, not every name called before him.

But he can still describe the unmistakable energy of his friends and family sitting alongside him, a traveling party of nearly 60. He remembers the way his heart sped up when the Montreal Canadiens were on the clock at No. 21. And a moment, right before the pick, when he leaned toward his mom.

“Do you think it’s going to be me?” he asked.

“I was hoping,” Rania Saba says now.

Then it happened.

“Surreal,” she said. “There’s no way you could’ve scripted it any better.”

Few things in Hage’s life have gone according to script. But there’s one throughline in his journey, and it’s a mantra from his mother: “Don’t move on, just move forward.” That was on full display this season, as Hage emerged as one of the top playmakers in the country for the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

Michigan will face Denver in a Frozen Four semifinal Thursday night (8:30 ET, ESPN2), and while Hage was limited in the first two games because of a lower-body injury, Michigan coach Brandon Naurato says he is probable to play against the Pioneers.

“Every time the puck is on his stick,” Naurato said, “you think there could be some highlight reel coming.”

“If you’re ever under pressure,” teammate Will Horcoff said, “you know he’s gonna make a play.”

Hage entered the NCAA tournament as Michigan’s second-leading scorer — and tied for third nationally — with 51 points through 37 games. He is both grounded and ascendant.

“Everyone has their own story,” Hage said. “Just trying to be grateful is probably the biggest thing I’ve learned.”

GROWING UP IN Greater Toronto, Michael Hage was a shy kid, the kind who needed his mom to stand beside him on the soccer field.

“I had to hold his hand,” Saba said.

Then he stepped on the ice.

“When I put skates on, it was something that I just loved to do,” he said. “And didn’t need any pushing.”

Hockey fandom, on the other hand, was presented without a choice. Hage came home from the hospital in Canadiens gear.

“There was no option,” Saba said. “He was born into it.”

His dad, Alain, made sure of that. Alain’s family emigrated from Egypt to Montreal in the 1960s.

“Hockey wasn’t really something that was affordable for him and his family,” Michael said. Alain Hage settled on playing high school football.

But hockey remained his passion, especially the Canadiens. He yelled at the TV during games. He celebrated Montreal’s 1993 Stanley Cup in the decades that followed.

The other thing Alain loved was Rania. They were introduced through their families when they were 13. She had a crush first. He caught on later.

They went to Concordia University together; she studied accounting, he was in finance.

Saba described her husband: “Driven. Stubborn at times. Competitive. And a good person.”

And as he became a father to Michael and his younger brother, Alex, there was nothing Alain dialed into more than his sons’ hockey careers.

Michael’s breakthrough came when he was 10 at the Brick Invitational Tournament, the biggest youth hockey showcase in North America. Hage was the tournament’s leading scorer.

“He kind of set himself away from everyone else,” Alex Hage said.

It set the entire family on a path, as Alain knew how to push his sons. As a hockey dad, he was quiet during games, and exacting afterward.

“If I knew I didn’t play well, it was a little scary getting back into the car,” Alex said. “He’d tell me everything I could’ve done better. I think that’s part of why I’m not set for the bare minimum.”

Naurato got to know Alain through the recruiting process. “He was intense, in an awesome way,” Naurato said. “Educated hockey guy, big fan of the game, and he wanted to know the information.”

That continued at home, during living room tape sessions.

“He’d be pausing the video every two seconds,” Alex recalled. “Correcting this, correcting that.”

At age 16, Michael moved to the States to further his hockey career as a top prospect, playing for the Chicago Steel of the USHL. Away from home, he constantly thought about the values Alain instilled in him. They were simple, even if the delivery wasn’t always easy: Compete, pay attention to details and don’t settle.

IT WAS AN ordinary summer night — that’s something Saba still comes back to. The Hages hosted a barbecue at their house in June 2023. Michael’s billet (or host) family was visiting from Chicago. Kids ran in and out of the pool. The air was filled with conversation, laughter and music.

“We were having a normal day,” Saba said.

At some point between dinner and dessert, Alain dove into the pool. No one noticed anything right away.

Then came a voice from one of the children in the pool, half-joking at first, something like “He’s playing dead.”

Saba walked closer.

“And when I looked in the pool,” she said, “something looked off.”

That’s when everything changed. Saba started screaming. Michael and one of his friends were nearby, sitting in the hot tub.

“I had to dive in there and grab him,” Michael said. “It was a horrible moment. It was one of the hardest things in my life. And it just, like, just didn’t feel real honestly. I try not to think about it.”

Everything that followed was a blur: calls, CPR, people scrambling to help however they could, sirens approaching. Within an hour, Alain had died.

“Alain had an accident in the backyard in the pool and banged his head, and our life changed,” Saba said.

“I just remember having so many questions,” Michael said. “Like, why? Why me? Why our family?”

NOTHING FELT THE same for a while. Eventually, Michael Hage knew there was only one place to go: back to the rink. Playing hockey didn’t fix anything or make sense of what happened.

“It provided him with stability, routine, his happy place,” Saba said. “When he’s training, when he’s with his hockey friends, when he’s on the ice, that’s his meditation.”

Hage had dealt with adversity before. In his first year with the Chicago Steel, a shoulder injury cost him the entire season.

“It was a long, long time. Three, four months just sitting on my couch doing not much, waiting,” he said. “It made me that much more excited. Just being healthy, able to do what I love.”

As he returned to Chicago following his father’s death — in a pivotal season to prove his worth to NHL scouts — he heeded the advice of his mother: “Don’t move on, just move forward.”

The following fall he made an immediate impact at Michigan, scoring four points in his opening weekend against Minnesota State. He was named the Big Ten Rookie of the Year for the 2024-25 season after finishing second on his team in scoring (34 points in 33 games).

“He reminds me of Mike Modano. Like when Mike skates, that jersey flaps in the back,” Naurato said. “But we’ll see, he’s carving his own path.”

At Michigan, Hage developed a brotherhood that became his support system. He and teammates live together in a house, which Horcoff describes as loud, messy and normal. Saba has become a legend to the crew, especially when she visits and helps with cleaning and cooking.

“She’s the best,” Horcoff said. “She takes care of all of us.”

Hage’s teammates see the way his family still honors Alain, who shaped so much of Michael’s development.

“He doesn’t let things define him,” said Dakoda Rheume, another one of his best friends at Michigan. “I know every time he has a good game, he pictures his dad up there.”

Michael felt Alain’s presence the last time he was in Vegas, putting on a Montreal Canadiens sweater bearing his name for the first time.

“I know he was there with me,” Michael said. “Just knowing that he was watching over me, it meant everything.”

He is back in the same city, but for a different moment. For Hage, he’ll never move on from what happened. He’ll just continue to move forward.

ESPN’s Jon Fish contributed to this report.