Mississippi State Softball Climbs into Polls for First time since 2009

For the first time since March 2009, Mississippi State can claim a top-25 softball team as the Bulldogs came in at No. 24 in both the ESPN.com/USA and USA Today/NFCA Division I polls released Tuesday morning.

The Bulldogs last held a ranking in the USA Today/NFCA poll on March 3, 2009, when they were ranked No. 25, and the Maroon and White last appeared in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll on April 21, 2008, with a No. 23 ranking.

Under Coach Vann Stuedeman, the Bulldogs have often appeared in the "others receiving votes" category, but this is the first time her squad has broken through into the rankings.

So far this season, the Bulldogs have gone 4-4 versus teams in the top-25 at the time of the matchuo. The Bulldogs knocked off No. 23 Notre Dane, No.8 Georgia, and took two games to win the series against No. 19 Texas A&M.

The Bulldogs will play their first game as a ranked team this decade Tuesday night at 5pm in  Hammond as Mississippi State travels to take on Southeastern Louisiana. This weekend, the Bulldogs travel to Oxford to take on Ole Miss in SEC play.