Most High School Softball State Championships

These are the high schools with the most fast-pitch softball state championships in the United States.

If you’ve ever driven past a youth sports complex in the summer, you can probably testify to the ever-growing popularity of fast-pitch softball. Fields as far as the eye can see filled up with girls trying to be the very best at their sport and doing so from a very young age.

All across the United States, high school softball dynasties have been crafted over the last 40-plus years — some states adopted the sport earlier than others — and from those dynasties have come some of the very best softball players of all time.

Here’s a look at the schools with the most high school softball state championships in the U.S.

15. Eight Schools Tied With 12 State Championships

John Curtis Softball / Twitter

Caravel Academy (Bear, Delaware): 1991, 1999, 2000-02, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2021, 2022
Erie High School (Erie, Colorado): 1998, 2000-05, 2007-10, 2019
Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, New Jersey): 1993-96, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2009, 2012, 2015-17
John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.): 2003-07, 2012-15, 2018, 2021, 2022
Northern High School (Owings, Maryland): 1994-96, 2001, 2008-15
Seton Catholic Prep (Chandler, Arizona):1979, 1983, 1996-99, 2002-05, 2009, 2010
Seymour High School (Seymour, Connecticut): 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2004-06, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021
Silver High School (Silver City, New Mexico): 1994, 1996-98, 2011-18

11. Bishop Kelly High School — 13 State Championships (Tie)

Knights Softball / Facebook

Location: Boise, Idaho

State championships: 1997-99, 2001, 2003, 2005-07, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022

Bottom line: Bishop Kelly won three consecutive state championships from 1997 to 1999 to kick off its dynasty and has won multiple state titles in each decade since, including back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.

Three Bishop Kelly players have been named Idaho Gatorade Player of the Year. Shortstop Michelle Chariton won the award in 1998; pitcher Kate Connolly won the award in 2000; and pitcher Britney Croner won the award in back-to-back years in 2006 and 2007.

11. Silver Lake High School — 13 State Championships (Tie)

Silver Lake HS Softball / Facebook

Location: Silver Lake, Kansas

State championships: 1992-96, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013-15, 2018

Bottom line: One of two teams from the great state of Kansas to make this list, tiny Silver Lake High kicked off its softball dynasty by winning five consecutive championships from 1992 to 1996 and six titles in the 1990s.

One generation removed from the start of the dynasty, Silver Lake won four more state championships in the 2010s, including three consecutive ones from 2013 to 2015. All of the titles in the 2010s were won with head coach Mark Workman.

11. Ezell-Harding Christian School — 13 State Championships

EHCSAthletics / Twitter

Location: Antioch, Tennessee

State championships: 1988, 1990-95, 1997-2001, 2013

Bottom line: Ezell-Harding had one of the greatest stretches of high school softball in national history — 11 state championships in 12 seasons from 1990 to 2001 by winning six consecutive titles from 1990 to 1995 and five more from 1997 to 2001.

Jennifer Wright was named Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year twice in that stretch, winning as a sophomore in 1999 and as a senior in 2001 as she passed 1,000 career strikeouts. Wright’s younger sister, Amy Wright, was named Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year in 2002.

11. Ankeny High School — 13 State Championships (Tie)

Ankeny HS Activities / Sarah Murphy / Facebook

Location: Ankeny, Iowa

State championships: 1977, 1978 (2), 1979, 1980 (2), 1983-85, 1991, 1994, 1996, 2012

Bottom line: Ankeny High doubled up on state championships in 1978 and 1980 in an era when Iowa played high school softball seasons in the fall and the summer — meaning Ankeny won nine of its 13 state titles from 1977 to 1985. Ankeny won three more state titles in the 1990s and won its last title in 2012.

Dick Rasmussen was Ankeny’s head coach for its first 12 state championships, and the team now plays home games at Dick Rasmussen Field.

8. Needles High School — 14 State Championships (Tie)

Needles High School / Stephanie Price Jones / Facebook

Location: Needles, California

State championships (Nevada): 1989-91, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2007-10, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022

Bottom line: Needles High has one of the more unique postseason arrangements in the nation — located in a part of California so isolated the school is allowed to participate as part of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association and not the California Interscholastic Federation. In softball, that arrangement has turned into a prep softball dynasty.

Former Needles stars still dot Nevada’s state record books for Class 2A. Brenna Chavez hit 16 home runs and racked up 104 RBI in just two seasons in 2016 and 2017, including 12 in 2017 when Needles won a state title. Pitcher Kortney Fletcher had 268 strikeouts and 32 wins from 2016 to 2018, including 21 on the title-winning team in 2017.

8. Vandebilt Catholic High School — 14 State Championships (Tie)

Spring Hill College Softball / Twitter

Location: Houma, Louisiana

State championships: 1980-85, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2010

Bottom line: Vandebilt Catholic reeled off the longest winning streak in national history when it won 112 consecutive games from 1980 to 1983, the same stretch in which pitcher Michelle Broussard won 88 consecutive games.

While Vandebilt has won 14 state championships — and none since 2010 — it’s also finished as state runner-up six times.

8. Bishop Carroll Catholic High School — 14 State Championships (Tie)

Twitter

Location: Wichita, Kansas

State championships: 1979, 1980, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2011-15, 2021

Bottom line: In Bishop Carroll’s storied history, only once has a Golden Eagle been named Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year — when senior right-handed pitcher and first baseman Brittany Finney brought home the award in 2015.

Finney went 15-0 with a 0.30 ERA in 2015, as Bishop Carroll went 25-0 and won its fifth consecutive state championship. Finney also had 112 strikeouts in 70 innings and finished her career with a state-record 38 home runs.

Bishop Carroll’s 2014 team set single-season state records that may never be broken for runs (405), hits (379) and home runs (59).

7. Baylor School — 15 State Championships

Baylor School Softball / Facebook

Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee

State championships: 1993, 1994, 2003-05, 2011-13, 2015-19, 2021, 2022

Bottom line: Baylor School is home to one of the elite high school athletics programs in the U.S., and its softball team is one of the crown jewels.

Even with all its success, Baylor didn’t have a Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year until 2021, when junior Sidney Berzon won the honor after she led Baylor to a 27-1 record and the Division II-Class AA state championship. Berzon went 17-0 with a 0.47 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 77 innings. Berzon is currently a freshman at LSU.

6. Papillion-La Vista Senior High School — 16 State Championships

Monarch Softball / Facebook

Location: Papillion, Nebraska

State championships: 1995-2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2019, 2020

Bottom line: Papillion’s first state championship in 1995 kicked off a run of 10 consecutive state titles and 12 state championships in a 13-year stretch.

No player in Papillion-La Vista history stands above pitcher Jordyn Bahl, who was named Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2021 and led her school to three consecutive Class A state championships. Bahl has continued her ascent in college. She led the University of Oklahoma to a national championship as a freshman in 2022 while also earning All-American honors as well as being named National Freshman of the Year and Big 12 Pitcher of the Year.

Not far behind Bahl is Peaches James, who was a three-time All-State pick and won four state titles before going on to star at the University of Nebraska.

5. Carlsbad High School — 17 State Championships

Cavegirl Softball / Facebook

Location: Carlsbad, New Mexico

State championships: 1976, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990-93, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2022

Bottom line: High school softball is serious business in New Mexico, where four different programs have won at least 10 state titles. At Carlsbad High, former head coach John Tigert had three different stints with the team and set New Mexico records for wins (636) and state championships (11).

Carlsbad pitcher Iranna Ogas and utility player Vanessa Buendia won back-to-back New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year honors in 2002 and 2003. Junior pitcher Faith Aragon brought the award back to Carlsbad after two decades after she led her team to the Class 5A state championship in 2022, when she went 16-1 with a 1.19 ERA and 182 strikeouts in 99 innings. Aragon also batted. 598 with 15 home runs and 48 RBI.

4. Loving High School — 18 State Championships

New Mexico Activities Association / Twitter

Location: Loving, New Mexico

State championships: 1988-95, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022

Bottom line: Loving High head coach Apolonio “Moe” Cordova is in his second stint at the school — he won four state championships from 1993 to 2003 and returned to win another state title in 2022 in his first year back.

Loving started its softball dynasty with eight consecutive state championships from 1988 to 1995, with Raul Sanchez as head coach for the first five and Cordova for the last three. Loving’s success in softball is even more remarkable when you consider its location on the southernmost border of New Mexico and its population of barely over 1,000 citizens.

2. Salem High School — 19 State Championships (Tie)

SalemDevilsSB / Twitter

Location: Salem, New Hampshire

State championships: 1978, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1990-93, 1998-2003, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2016, 2021

Bottom line: Salem High’s softball dynasty extends back to the 1970s, and the Blue Devils have won at least one state title in six consecutive decades.

Salem’s greatest run began in 1990, when it won four consecutive titles, and reached its peak with six consecutive titles from 1998 to 2003. That run included three consecutive New Hampshire Gatorade Player of the Year winners: outfielder Kristen Vadala in 2001, pitcher/first baseman Karen Harrington in 2002 and pitcher Krista Michalczyk in 2003.

2. Crescent High School — 19 State Championships (Tie)

National Federation of State High School Associations

Location: Iva, South Carolina

State championships: 1982-85, 1987-97, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2013

Bottom line: Crescent was knocked off the throne as the school with the most high school softball state championships in U.S. history in the last few years, but it’s still 10 championships ahead of anyone else in South Carolina.

In 41 years as Crescent’s head coach from 1977 to 2018, Gary Adams won all 19 of the school’s state titles and went 1,043-169 for a staggering winning percentage of 86.1 percent. Even more amazing? Crescent finished as state runner-up eight times under Adams.

1. Southington High School — 20 State Championships

SHS Knights Softball / Facebook

Location: Southington, Connecticut

State championships: 1978, 1979, 1981-83, 1985-88, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2013-15, 2019, 2021, 2022

Bottom line: Southington pitcher Tracy Ciosek threw her way into the national record books with 48 consecutive wins in 1986 and 1987 — part of Southington’s streak of four consecutive state championships from 1985 to 1988 and seven state titles in the 1980s.

Southington’s softball dynasty has been something to behold. Southington has won at least one state championship in six consecutive decades dating back to the 1970s, including back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.