FLORENCE, Ala. (March 30, 2026) – D1Softball announced its national mid-major rankings for Week 8 on Monday, announcing the University of North Alabama softball team at No. 24 for its first ranking of the season.
The Lions are 24-8 overall and 7-2 in the Atlantic Sun Conference following a three-game sweep of Bellarmine this past weekend. UNA outscored the Knights 39-8 over three games, setting a new Division I era record for runs in a series. UNA also scored 14 runs in the third inning of game two, setting a Division I school record for the highest scoring inning.
UNA is one of two ASUN teams in the mid-major rankings this week, joining Stetson at No. 17.
"While we don't put a lot of stake into rankings and more into how we finish, this ranking does mean a lot to our program," said UNA head coach
Ashley Cozart. "Our girls are crushing it, and for them to see their hard work paying off is special. I'm so proud of them, and they deserve all the recognition. While this isn't our end goal, it's nice to see our name in the mix with some great teams."
UNA has played three games against teams in the mid-major rankings this week, including a split with No. 3 Belmont at the Samford Tournament on Feb. 13-14. The Lions won the first game with a 9-5 victory, then fell 4-3 on a walk-off the next day despite hitting two homers on All-American pitcher Maya Johnson.
UNA also played No. 18 South Alabama on the road, falling 5-0 back in February.
The Lions sit atop the ASUN Gold Division standings along with Eastern Kentucky with a 7-2 record. This includes series wins over Central Arkansas, Austin Peay and Bellarmine.
This weekend, Lipscomb will visit Florence for a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader Friday, April 3 at 1 p.m. The series will end Saturday, April 4 at 1 p.m. Friday will be UNA's "Strike Out Sexual Assault" games to help raise awareness. Fans are encouraged to bring individually-packaged snacks to donate to One Drive of the Shoals at the main gate.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
