Women’s softball reaches new global milestone as WBSC Ranking expands to 70 programmes
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has released the 2025 end-of-the-year WBSC Women’s Softball World Ranking, which features a record-setting 70 softball programmes for the first time.
Six countries from three continents returned to the ranking, pushing the total to the historic milestone: No. 53 Uganda, No. 59 Panama, No. 61 Indonesia, No. 62 Nicaragua, No. 66 Belize, and No. 69 Honduras.
The updated ranking incorporates results from several high-profile international events, including the Southeast Asian Games, the Central American Games, the Bolivarian Games, and the African Championship.
The previous record of 67 ranked programmes was set in December 2018, before the total dropped to 65 in June 2021 following the global pandemic.
Belize return to the Women’s Softball World Ranking for the first time since April 2023, when they last appeared in 62nd place. Indonesia return after a two-year absence, having last featured in December 2023. Nicaragua and Panama re-enter the ranking one year after losing all their points in the 2024 end-of-the-year release.
Honduras make their historic first appearance in the ranking, debuting in 69th place with three points. Uganda also return to the chart after nearly five years, last appearing in June 2021, the first ranking released after the pandemic.
At the top of the ranking, the top four remain unchanged, with Japan continuing to lead, followed by USA, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Chinese Taipei climbed one position to fifth place, overtaking the Netherlands, now sixth. Mexico also moved up one spot to No. 7, passing China, while Czechia gained one position to become the third European nation in the top 10.
Under the current ranking system, ranking points earned by any national team remain valid for exactly four years. However, if an event takes place within four years of the previous edition, the points from the earlier edition are removed from the rankings as soon as the next edition is held. See World Ranking methodology here + Appendix.