LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nebraska state champion Gretna starts right where it left off last year — the No. 1 spot — in the first NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll of the 2025 season, the Association revealed on Thursday.
The Dragons open their 2025 campaign later today at Norris following an undefeated 38-0 run that culminated with a Class A championship last October. Gretna recently earned 2024-25 ATEC/NFCA High School National Coaching Staff of the Year honors, as voted by the Association’s high school membership.
Meanwhile, East Coweta, the team that spent the most time (nine weeks) in the top spot last season, opens in the No. 2 position. The reigning Georgia 6A champion Indians are off to another terrific start in 2025, going 9-0 and outscoring their opponents 76-8 so far.
Last year’s state title was East Coweta’s fourth in the last eight seasons (2017, 2018 and 2020 in 7A) across two classifications. Overall, the Indians have appeared in five straight state finals and seven of the last eight.
Back-to-back Iowa state Class 2A titlist Van Meter rounds out the top three. The (34-2) Bulldogs defeated West Lyon, 8-7 in eight innings, in the July 25 final on Ava Hohenadel’s walk-off homer. Hohenadel also had the game-winning hit in Van Meter’s semifinal victory, a 5-4 win over West Fork.
Buford (1-0), which dealt No. 2 East Coweta its only loss last season, and fellow Georgia school North Cobb (7-0) complete the first five. Buford made an early statement with a 13-0 rout of Walnut Grove in its opener last Wednesday.
Elsewhere, No. 9 Wesleyan is already 4-0. The Wolves are coming off a fourth consecutive Georgia state crown, which included winning six games in three days, including defeating Hebron Christian twice to claim the 2024 Private School championship. Wesleyan won the 3A state title in 2022 and 2023 and captured their other Private School crown in 2021.
In Missouri, the top two finishers in Class 5 lead the way, with state champ Lafayette starting just outside the top 10 and runner-up Rock Bridge opening solidly in the No. 16 spot.
The other four Iowa state champions — Northwest (34-4), Clarksville (31-4), Williamsburg (35-7) and Pella (26-12) — joined Van Meter in the rankings.
State rankings submitted by the NFCA High School Steering Committee are used to compile the NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll. Teams are chosen based on performance, roster quality and strength of schedule. Five states — Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Missouri — play a fall fastpitch schedule, while Iowa recently completed its summer season.
NFCA Summer/Fall High School Top 25 Coaches Poll – Aug. 21, 2025
|
Rank |
Team |
2025 Record |
|
1 |
Gretna (Neb.) |
0-0 |
|
2 |
East Coweta (Ga.) |
9-0 |
|
3 |
Van Meter (Iowa) |
34-2 |
|
4 |
Lutheran (Colo.) |
2-0 |
|
5 |
Buford (Ga.) |
1-0 |
|
6 |
North Cobb (Ga.) |
7-0 |
|
7 |
Dale (Okla.) |
3-0 |
|
8 |
Broomfield (Colo.) |
1-0 |
|
9 |
Wesleyan (Ga.) |
4-0 |
|
10 |
Caddo (Okla.) |
3-0 |
|
11 |
Lafayette (Mo.) |
0-0 |
|
12 |
Owasso (Okla.) |
5-1 |
|
13 |
Millard North (Neb.) |
0-0 |
|
14 |
Valor Christian (Colo.) |
2-1 |
|
15 |
Lincoln Southwest (Neb.) |
0-0 |
|
16 |
Rock Bridge (Mo.) |
0-0 |
|
17 |
Papillion-LaVista (Neb.) |
0-0 |
|
18 |
Blue Springs South (Mo.) |
0-0 |
|
19 |
Northwest (Iowa) |
34-4 |
|
20 |
Piedmont (Okla.) |
4-2 |
|
21 |
Raymore-Peculiar (Mo.) |
0-0 |
|
22 |
Clarksville (Iowa) |
31-4 |
|
23 |
Helias Catholic (Mo.) |
0-0 |
|
24 |
Williamsburg (Iowa) |
35-7 |
|
25 |
Pella (Iowa) |
26-12 |
NFCA High School Steering Committee
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