LAKE CHARLES—The season 2023 softball season is still a few weeks away, but McNeese softball is already getting recognition.  The Cowgirl program was recognized by D1 Softball as one of the Top 50 programs, being ranked No. 42.
 
The ranking was focused on the tradition of consistent winning in the past decade, especially the last five years.  The ultimate goal of the ranking was to identify the programs in the best shape right now, with an eye towards the next five to 10 years.
 
In the last 10 years including a shortened 2020 Covid year in which the Cowgirls were 19-7 overall and 3-0 in the SLC before the season was cut short, McNeese has won five Southland Conference regular season titles and five Southland Conference Tournament titles, six postseason tournaments including five NCAA Regional Tournaments. 
 
McNeese is coming off a season in which it made its deepest run in the NCAA Regional Tournament, advancing to its first regional championship including two wins over Notre Dame before falling to Northwestern who advanced to the 2022 Women's College World Series.
 
D1 Softball Top 50 Programs
No. 50 UMBC
No. 49 San Diego State
No. 48 Ohio State
No. 47 Saint Francis
No. 46 Nebraska
No. 45 Liberty
No. 44 Texas State
No. 43 Wichita State
No. 42 McNeese
No. 41 Cal State Fullerton
No. 40 California
No. 39 Fordham
No. 38 Boston University
No. 37 Wisconsin
No. 36 BYU
No. 35 South Florida
No. 34 Oregon State
No. 33 Stanford
No. 32 UCF
No. 31 Duke
No. 30 Clemson
No. 29 Ole Miss
No. 28 Notre Dame
No. 27 Virginia Tech
No. 26 Mississippi State
No. 25 JMU
No. 24 Baylor
No. 23 Minnesota
No. 22 Arkansas
No. 21 Northwestern
No. 20 Missouri
No. 19 Louisiana
No. 18 Auburn
No. 17 Texas A&M
No. 16 Oklahoma State
No. 15 Michigan
No. 14 ASU
No. 13 Oregon
No. 12 Kentucky
No. 11 LSU
No. 10 Texas
No. 9 Tennessee
No. 8 Georgia
No. 7 Washington
No. 6 Arizona
No. 5 Alabama
No. 4 Florida State
No. 3 UCLA
No. 2 Florida
No. 1 Oklahoma