College softball coach rankings: USA TODAY's top 10 ahead of NCAA Tournament

Glasco only has nine career seasons as a head coach, but his .791 career winning percentage ranks second among active head coaches. The 67-year-old coach is fresh off leading the Red Raiders to a runner-up finish in his first season with the program, and has a 105-19 record with the school.

Prior to Texas Tech, Glasco went 300-88 at Louisiana from 2018-24. He started his college coaching career at Georgia in 2009, following a career coaching high school softball in Illinois. He was also an assistant at Texas A&M and Auburn, along with professional-level head coaching stints with the USSSA Pride and Scrap Yard Dawgs in the now-defunct NPF.

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8. Kenny Gajewski, Oklahoma State

Kenny Gajewski has built the Cowgirls into a perennial Women's College World Series threat.

The 11th-year head coach — an Oklahoma graduate assistant in Gasso's first season and later an assistant for Walton at Florida — already has five WCWS appearances, accumulating a 438-183 record and .703 winning percentage. Gajewski has also built a reputation as a strong recruiter, bringing high-level players to Stillwater via the transfer portal.

7. Karen Weekly, Tennessee

Karen and Ralph Weekly are two of the most well-known coaches in the history of the sport. Karen Weekly served as the co-head coach at Tennessee alongside Ralph from 2002-21 before her husband's retirement.

One of the winningest coaches in softball history, Weekly has 1,384 career wins. Despite leading the Vols to nine WCWS appearances and two runner-up finishes in 25 years, Weekly has yet to lead Tennessee to a national title.

6. Lonni Alameda, Florida State

Lonni Alameda and Florida State have been one of the best programs of the last decade, with a national championship in 2018 and two runner-up finishes in 2021 and 2023.

The former Oklahoma pitcher (before Gasso's tenure) has an 860-234-2 all-time record across 23 seasons, including a stint at UNLV. She has five WCWS appearances, but has made deep runs in three of those years.

Alameda has dominated the ACC since taking over at Florida State, with 10 ACC Softball Tournament wins and nine regular season championships. She also has a whopping eight Coach of the Year awards in the conference.

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5. Patrick Murphy, Alabama

One of the longest-tenured coaches in college softball, Patrick Murphy built the Alabama program. The 60-year-old coach has a 1,305-395 record in 28 seasons, with 15 WCWS appearances, a 2014 runner-up finish and, in 2012, became the first coach to beat Gasso in the championship series.

The Crimson Tide haven't made a deep WCWS in recent years, but Murphy has one of his best teams in recent memory in 2026, earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Softball Tournament. Alabama looks like a top title contender once again.

4. Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA

UCLA legend Kelly Inouye-Perez is the only person to win an NCAA softball championship as a coach and player — each with the Bruins. In fact, the 20th-year head coach has five total titles: three as a player and two as a coach.

Inouye-Perez became only the second coach to defeat Gasso in a national championship series, winning the title in 2019. She has led 10 WCWS appearances, and reached Oklahoma City seven straight seasons from 2015-22 before getting upset in regionals in 2023.

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3. Tim Walton, Florida

Florida has been a WCWS mainstay under Walton, who's in his 21st season with the program. The former Gasso assistant has two national championships in 2014 and 2015, with 13 WCWS appearances and three runner-up finishes.

Walton, a catcher on Oklahoma baseball's national championship-winning team in 1994 alongside Gajewski, started his head coaching career at Wichita State, leading the Shockers to a regional appearance in 2005 before he was hired by the Gators.

He has a 1,076-264 record, six SEC tournament wins and eight SEC regular season titles. While he hasn't won a national championship since 2015, he's only one of three active coaches with multiple national titles.

2. Mike White, Texas

Texas coach Mike White is on his way to being one of the next greats in college softball coaching. The 58-year-old from New Zealand won his first national championship last season, building the Longhorns into a contender in short order after leaving Oregon in 2019.

In 16 seasons as a head coach, White has accumulated an impressive 356-103-2 record with the Ducks and Longhorns. He has eight WCWS appearances, which makes up half of his seasons. He also led Texas to two runner-up finishes — both of which came to Oklahoma in 2022 and 2024 — before winning his first title.

The former men's fast-pitch standout has made quite the career in the United States, albeit in an unconventional way.

1. Patty Gasso, Oklahoma

One of the greatest coaches in college sports history, Gasso is the best to ever do it in college softball. She has eight national titles and 18 WCWS appearances in 32 seasons at Oklahoma, winning six titles in eight seasons from 2016-24 — including an unprecedented four-peat from 2021-24.

The 63-year-old coach also has the most wins among all coaches in college softball history, with 1,615. Her .812 winning percentage entering the 2026 season was also the highest among all Division I coaches.

Oklahoma softball's dynasty has been one of the most impressive in all of college sports in recent years. And it all starts with Gasso.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College softball coach rankings: USA TODAY's top-10 active list