FHSAA Softball Rankings: Pace ranked No. 1 in state; Northview ranked second in Class 1A
According to the FHSAA rankings, Pace softball is now the standard.
The Patriots have overtaken both Bartow (now ranked second) and Bloomingdale (now ranked third) for the top spot in the state. Pace has a rating of 23.837, just 0.22 points above Bartow, the defending Class 6A state champion from 2023, which defeated the Patriots in the title game.
West Florida (Class 4A) also saw its stock rise in the state rankings, jumping up to No. 96 overall. Jay and Northview (Class 1A) jumped up in the state and regional rankings, with the Chiefs now second in Class 1A and the Royals now sixth in Class 1A.
Softball playoffs begin on April 29 with district tournaments. Those will go until May 2. In Classes 2A-7A, the winner of each district tournament advances to the regional tournament, followed by the next four-best teams, according to the FHSAA rankings, as at-large bids. In Class 1A, it’ll be the two district champions plus the next two highest teams in the regional rankings.
Here's a breakdown of each class and the state rankings for area teams.
Class 6A
Pace (23.837) – first in District 1-6A, first in Region 1-6A, first in Class 6A, first overall
Tate (13.698) – second in District 1-6A, fourth in Region 1-6A, 13th in Class 6A, 53rd overall
Milton (13.420) – third in District 1-6A, fifth in Region 1-6A, 14th in Class 6A, 57th overall
Navarre (9.986) – fourth in District 1-6A, ninth in Region 1-6A, 24th in Class 6A, 105th overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Pace (District 1), Hagerty (District 4), Oakleaf (District 3) and Niceville (District 2). The four at-large bids would go to Tate (District 1), Milton (District 1), Nease (District 3) and Lake Howell (District 4). Navarre, which was fifth in the region last week, would just miss an at-large bid at ninth.
The four quarterfinal matchups in Region 1 would be:
No. 1 Pace vs. No. 8 Niceville
No. 2 Hagerty vs. No. 7 Lake Howell
No. 3 Oakleaf vs. No. 6 Nease
No. 4 Tate vs. No. 5 Milton
Class 5A
Gulf Breeze (18.315) – first in District 1-5A, second in Region 1-5A, second in Class 5A, 18th overall
Escambia (-1.316) – fourth in District 1-5A, 16th in Region 1-5A, 49th in Class 5A, 324th overall
Pine Forest (-2.115) – fifth in District 1-5A, 18th in Region 1-5A, 51st in Class 5A, 339th overall
Booker T. Washington (-11.249) – sixth in District 1-5A, 23rd in Region 1-5A, 67th in Class 5A, 471st overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Middleburg (District 2), Gulf Breeze (District 1), Matanzas (District 4) and Fleming Island (District 3). The four at-large bids would be earned by: Fort Walton Beach (District 1), Gainesville (District 2), Deltona (District 4) and Ponte Vedra (District 3).
The four Region 1 quarterfinal matchups would be:
No. 1 Middleburg vs. No. 8 Ponte Vedra
No. 2 Gulf Breeze vs. No. 7 Deltona
No. 3 Fort Walton Beach vs. No. 6 Fleming Island
No. 4 Gainesville vs. No. 5 Matanzas
Class 4A
West Florida (10.232) – third in District 1-4A, fifth in Region 1-4A, 12th in Class 4A, 96th overall
Pensacola (-16.588) – seventh in District 1-4A, 19th in Region 1-4A, 78th in Class 4A, 511th overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Wakulla (District 1), Baker County (District 2), Bishop Kenny (District 3) and Menendez (District 4). The four at-large bids would be: Arnold (District 1), Paxon School for Advanced Studies (District 2), West Florida (District 1) and South Walton (District 3).
The four Region 1 quarterfinal matchups would be:
No. 1 Wakulla vs. No. 8 Menendez
No. 2 Arnold vs. No. 7 South Walton
No. 3 Baker County vs. No. 6 Bishop Kenny
No. 4 Paxson School for Advanced Studies vs. No. 5 West Florida
Class 3A
Pensacola Catholic (0.536) – third in District 1-3A, 12th in Region 1-3A, 42nd in Class 3A, 282nd overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Episcopal School of Jacksonville (District 4), North Bay Haven Academy (District 1), Marianna (District 2) and Keystone Heights (District 3). The four at-large bids would go to: Baldwin (District 4), West Nassau (District 4), Suwannee (District 2) and Fernandina Beach (District 4).
The four quarterfinal matchups in Region 1 would look like:
No. 1 Episcopal School of Jacksonville vs. No. 8 Fernandina Beach
No. 2 Baldwin vs. No. 7 Keystone Heights
No. 3 North Bay Haven Academy vs. No. 6 Suwannee
No. 4 West Nassau vs. No. 5 Marianna
Class 1A
Northview (15.620) – first in District 1-1A, first in Region 1-1A, second in Class 1A, 30th overall
Jay (11.273) – second in District 1-1A, second in Region 1-1A, sixth in Class 1A, 79th overall
Central (-0.367) – fifth in District 1-1A, ninth in Region 1-1A, 30th in Class 1A, 302nd overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the two Region 1 automatic bids would be: Northview (District 1) and Freeport (District 2). The two at-large bids would go to: Jay (District 1) and Holmes County (District 2).
The two semifinal matchups in Region 1 would be:
No. 1 Northview vs. No. 4 Holmes County
No. 2 Jay vs. No. 3 Freeport
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace softball best in state at No. 1 in latest FHSAA softball rankings