by our College Data Analytics Team
Picking a college for your sport means looking beyond the field or court. Our ranking highlights 43 schools for Women’s Softball by academic-athletic quality, using our 2026 methodology.
To help you decide, College Factual weighs a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and aid per athlete from the EADA survey), and overall school quality, drawing on NCAA, U.S. Department of Education EADA, and IPEDS data. Learn more about our ranking methodology.
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Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best college for Women's Softball in California. Located in Stanford, CA, Stanford University is a private not-for-profit institution. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 998, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 93%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $160,247, with expenses of about $160,247 per participant. Athletic aid averages $42,012 per athlete.
University of California-Los Angeles came in at #2 on this year's ranking for Women's Softball. Based in Los Angeles, CA, University of California-Los Angeles is a public institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 996, alongside a GSR of 90%. Its federal graduation rate is 82%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $171,560, compared with $171,560 spent per athlete. The school awards about $24,306 in athletic aid per athlete.
Santa Clara University is one of the top schools for Women's Softball, at #3. This private not-for-profit school is set in Santa Clara, CA. Santa Clara University records an NCAA APR of 1000, and a 89% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 89%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $59,857, with expenses of about $59,857 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $19,355.
University of San Diego earned the #4 place for student athletes. University of San Diego is a private not-for-profit school based in San Diego, CA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 991, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 93%. Team revenue averages $68,782 per participant, compared with $68,782 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $19,537.
Loyola Marymount University landed the #5 spot for Women's Softball. Based in Los Angeles, CA, Loyola Marymount University is a private not-for-profit institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 989, alongside a GSR of 94%. The federal graduation rate stands at 67%. The program generates about $99,335 in revenue per athlete, against $99,335 in expenses. The school awards about $40,056 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of California-Berkeley came in at #6 in this year's ranking. Located in Berkeley, CA, University of California-Berkeley is a public institution. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 991, alongside a GSR of 89%. About 81% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $101,242, against $101,242 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $21,267.
University of California-San Diego placed #7 among the best colleges for Women's Softball. Based in La Jolla, CA, University of California-San Diego is a public institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 997, alongside a GSR of 100%. The federal graduation rate stands at 96%. The program generates about $52,317 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $52,317 per participant. The school awards about $9,847 in athletic aid per athlete.
San Diego State University ranked #8 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. Based in San Diego, CA, San Diego State University is a public institution. San Diego State University records an NCAA APR of 997, alongside a GSR of 85%. Its federal graduation rate is 78%. The program generates about $78,956 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $77,665 per participant. The school awards about $21,450 in athletic aid per athlete.
Chapman University came in at #9 in this year's ranking. Chapman University is a private not-for-profit school based in Orange, CA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $9,225, with expenses of about $9,225 per participant. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
University of California-Davis ranked #10 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. Located in Davis, CA, University of California-Davis is a public institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 995, and a 94% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 87%. Team revenue averages $48,198 per participant, against $48,198 in expenses. The school awards about $14,267 in athletic aid per athlete.
Occidental College ranked #11 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Los Angeles, CA. The program generates about $12,810 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $11,959 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo ranked #12 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. This public school is set in San Luis Obispo, CA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 993, and a 94% Graduation Success Rate. About 94% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $45,122, compared with $45,122 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $10,344 per athlete.
University of the Pacific did well this year, earning the #13 position. University of the Pacific is a private not-for-profit school based in Stockton, CA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 983, with a Graduation Success Rate of 100%. About 57% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. The program generates about $56,329 in revenue per athlete, compared with $56,329 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $21,596 per athlete.
University of California-Santa Barbara placed #14 among the best colleges for Women's Softball. This public school is set in Santa Barbara, CA. Its student-athletes post an NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 979, alongside a GSR of 94%. About 88% of athletes graduate under the federal rate. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $76,941, compared with $76,941 spent per athlete. The school awards about $11,355 in athletic aid per athlete.
Biola University landed the #15 spot this year. This private not-for-profit school is set in La Mirada, CA. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $32,831, against $32,007 in expenses. The school awards about $12,338 in athletic aid per athlete.
California Lutheran University landed the #16 spot this year. California Lutheran University is a private not-for-profit school based in Thousand Oaks, CA. The program generates about $9,474 in revenue per athlete, against $9,474 in expenses. The school awards about $0 in athletic aid per athlete.
Dominican University of California landed the #17 spot this year. This private not-for-profit school is set in San Rafael, CA. The program generates about $19,014 in revenue per athlete, with expenses of about $19,014 per participant. The school awards about $7,270 in athletic aid per athlete.
Saint Mary's College of California ranked #18 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. Based in Moraga, CA, Saint Mary's College of California is a private not-for-profit institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 989, with a Graduation Success Rate of 88%. The federal graduation rate stands at 68%. The program generates about $56,610 in revenue per athlete, against $56,610 in expenses. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $18,999.
University of Redlands came in at #19 in this year's ranking. Located in Redlands, CA, University of Redlands is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $7,104 per participant, with expenses of about $11,800 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
Azusa Pacific University did well this year, earning the #20 position. Based in Azusa, CA, Azusa Pacific University is a private not-for-profit institution. Team revenue averages $35,954 per participant, compared with $35,418 spent per athlete. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $11,069.
California State University-Northridge landed the #21 spot this year. This public school is set in Northridge, CA. The team's NCAA APR score is 988, with a Graduation Success Rate of 90%. Its federal graduation rate is 81%. Team revenue averages $41,819 per participant, with expenses of about $37,086 per participant. The school awards about $11,174 in athletic aid per athlete.
California State University-Fullerton did well this year, earning the #22 position. Based in Fullerton, CA, California State University-Fullerton is a public institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 984, and a 89% Graduation Success Rate. Its federal graduation rate is 58%. The program generates about $72,277 in revenue per athlete, compared with $72,277 spent per athlete. The school awards about $9,497 in athletic aid per athlete.
California Baptist University ranked #23 on our 2026 list for Women's Softball. This private not-for-profit school is set in Riverside, CA. Athletes here earn an NCAA Academic Progress Rate of 978, and a 83% Graduation Success Rate. The federal graduation rate stands at 60%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $72,667, with expenses of about $70,823 per participant. Athletic aid averages $23,790 per athlete.
California State University-Fresno landed the #24 spot this year. Based in Fresno, CA, California State University-Fresno is a public institution. The team's NCAA APR score is 975, with a Graduation Success Rate of 90%. Its federal graduation rate is 48%. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $56,769, compared with $56,769 spent per athlete. Athletic aid averages $15,577 per athlete.
University of La Verne placed #25 among the best colleges for Women's Softball. Located in La Verne, CA, University of La Verne is a private not-for-profit institution. Per-participant team revenue is roughly $7,081, with expenses of about $6,924 per participant. Per-athlete athletic aid is roughly $0.
These programs also stood out among the best this year:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology weighs a blend of academic-athletic outcomes (NCAA Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate), athletic financial resources (team revenue, expenses, and athletic aid from the federal EADA survey), and overall school quality. The current methodology measures academic-athletic quality and does not include team win/loss performance.
References
Read more about our data sources and methodologies.
