UVA Softball Ranked No. 24 in Softball America Preseason Top 25
For the first time in program history, Virginia softball is ranked in a preseason poll. Softball America unveiled their Preseason Top 25 Poll for the 2025 college softball season and the Cavaliers were ranked No. 24 to start the year.
UVA is one of five ACC teams ranked in the Softball America Preseason Top 25, joining No. 8 Duke, No. 10 Florida State, No. 19 California, and No. 22 Virginia Tech.
See the full preseason poll from Softball America below.
Softball American 2025 Preseason Poll
- Florida
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- Oklahoma State
- UCLA
- Tennessee
- Texas A&M
- Duke
- Texas Tech
- Florida State
- Alabama
- LSU
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- Missouri
- Baylor
- Georgia
- Northwestern
- Cal
- Liberty
- Nebraska
- Virginia Tech
- Michigan
- Virginia
- Penn State
Despite being predicted to finish ninth in the ACC last season, Joanna Hardin's Wahoos turned in a fantastic campaign, going 32-17 in the regular season and 15-9 in the ACC, good for a fourth-place finish in the conference, the best finish for the program since 2010. The Cavaliers won seven of their eight ACC series, including a huge upset series victory on the road at No. 3 Duke, and earned just their second-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Virginia won a couple of games in the Knoxville Regional and advanced to a regional final for the first time in program history before falling to the host Tennessee. UVA finished the season 34-20 overall and ranked No. 22 in the last Softball America poll of the season.
From that roster that produced such a historic season, Virginia is returning seven position starters and four of six pitchers. Headlining that group of returners are junior pitcher Eden Bigham and junior shortstop Jade Hylton, both of whom were selected to the All-ACC First Team in 2024 and were ranked as Preseason Top 100 Players by both D1Softball and Softball America.
Bigham had the second-most strikeouts of any ACC pitcher last season with 182 punchouts and she also registered a 2.44 ERA, a 16-8 record, three saves, nine complete games, and six complete-game shutouts. Hylton batted .335 with 14 home runs, 41 RBI, 37 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases, leading the Cavaliers in every offensive category. UVA is also returning All-ACC Freshman selection Bella Cabral and standout lefty pitcher Savanah Henley, who missed the second half of the 2024 season with an injury.
Virginia's 2025 regular season schedule includes 13 games against teams ranked in the Softball America Preseason Top 25. UVA will take on No. 5 UCLA and No. 7 Texas A&M at the Shriners Children's Clearwater Classic on the weekend of February 13-16 in Clearwater, Florida. Additionally, UVA will play a home-and-home pair of games against No. 20 Liberty. In ACC play, Virginia will play three-game series against No. 19 Cal, No. 10 Florida State, and No. 22 Virginia Tech.
The 2025 Virginia softball season will open on Thursday, February 6th, when the Cavaliers take on South Carolina to open the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia, South Carolina. Virginia's first home games will be on the weekend of February 20th through 23rd, when the Cavaliers host Delaware, UConn, Longwood, and Penn as part of the Mizuno Classic at Palmer Park.