The Northeast Alabama Community College softball program's meteoric rise to national prominence reached another level on Monday.
In just its second year of existence, NACC is the new No. 1-ranked team in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Softball Rankings.
It's the first time in program history Northeast has held the top spot in the rankings. The Mustangs received all 13 first-place votes after spending the past two weeks ranked second.
NACC head coach Joe Guthrie said the No. 1 ranking is a testament to the hard work of many while adding that the Mustangs' main goal is to be ranked No. 1 at season's end.
"I am happy for the school and our fans," Guthrie said. "The only ranking I am interested in is national champion. We need to continue to improve on our weaknesses."
NACC is 31-1 thus far this season and leads the Alabama Community Conference standings with a 12-0 conference record. The Mustangs are coming off of a four-game ACCC series sweep of No. 12-ranked Wallace State-Hanceville.
NACC took over the top spot from Grayson (Texas) College, which fell to No. 4 in the rankings after occupying the top spot the past three weeks. Following NACC in the rankings is No. 2-ranked Northwest Florida State College, No. 3 Florida Southwestern State, Grayson and No. 5 McLennan (Texas), which NACC defeated three times during last month's Mustang Invitational.
NACC was unranked in the NJCAA Division I preseason poll that was released in January, but the Mustangs debuted at No. 4 in the first in-season poll after opening the season 14-0. After a week at No. 3 and another week at No. 4, NACC spent the two previous weeks ranked second.
NACC has outscored opponents 260-63 this season and is tied for first in the NJCAA in team batting average (.419). The Mustangs are also second nationally in fielding percentage (.975) and eighth in earned run average (2.00).
The Mustangs return to action Thursday when they begin another ACCC series by hosting Snead State for a doubleheader at 2 p.m. at Nathaniel Ledbetter Stadium. Tickets are available at gofan.co/app/school/AL100680 and students receive free admission by showing a current NACC ID.
