[ED.NOTE: Much to the disdain of the Bama softball rainbow chasing rage mob, I am back from vacation. This excursion came with a promise of minimal online activity. Though I come back refreshed and blissful, don’t expect any observations through rose-colored glasses. It will be the same ol’ straight up honesty as always. Many thanks to Josh Chatham for ably filling in.]
It seems so long ago that we were fretting about whether the 2021 season would even start. Yet, here we are down to the final eight teams. It should not be surprising that the top three favorites to win it all are also the top three in RPI Rankings:
(WCWS participants in bold)
| RK | TEAM | CONF | REC | ROAD | NEUTRAL | HOME |
| 1 | Alabama | SEC | 50-7 | 10-3 | 1-0 | 39-4 |
| 2 | UCLA | Pac-12 | 46-5 | 14-2 | 2-1 | 30-2 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | 50-2 | 18-2 | 14-0 | 18-0 |
| 4 | Florida | SEC | 45-11 | 14-7 | 2-0 | 29-4 |
| 5 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 47-10 | 16-2 | 8-3 | 23-5 |
| 6 | LSU | SEC | 35-22 | 10-10 | 3-1 | 22-11 |
| 7 | Arkansas | SEC | 43-11 | 18-2 | 1-2 | 24-7 |
| 8 | Florida State | ACC | 44-10 | 15-4 | 4-3 | 25-3 |
| 9 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 41-13 | 13-10 | 0-0 | 28-3 |
| 10 | Texas | Big 12 | 43-14 | 10-7 | 3-2 | 30-5 |
| 11 | Missouri | SEC | 42-17 | 15-7 | 12-2 | 15-8 |
| 12 | Georgia | SEC | 34-21 | 8-8 | 1-1 | 25-12 |
| 13 | Tennessee | SEC | 42-15 | 7-6 | 6-0 | 29-9 |
| 14 | Oregon | Pac-12 | 40-17 | 13-8 | 8-2 | 19-7 |
| 15 | Virginia Tech | ACC | 37-15 | 21-7 | 5-2 | 11-6 |
| 16 | Washington | Pac-12 | 45-14 | 16-10 | 11-1 | 18-3 |
| 17 | James Madison | CAA | 39-2 | 14-1 | 3-0 | 22-1 |
| 18 | Liberty | ASUN | 44-15 | 15-5 | 8-6 | 21-4 |
| 19 | Duke | ACC | 44-12 | 14-8 | 10-0 | 20-4 |
| 20 | Kentucky | SEC | 42-16 | 15-10 | 12-0 | 15-6 |
The reason Alabama is ranked higher than the Sooners is twofold: 1) The SEC and Pac-12 are much stronger conferences in softball than the Big XII; and 2) the Crimson Tide had a tougher non-conference slate.