Now that the UK women’s basketball team has gotten its due respect, how about some noise for the UK softball team?

On the heels of an 11-3 start and last year’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, the Cats have cracked the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 for the first time in school annals. UK enters the poll at No. 23, becoming the fourth Southeastern Conference team in the rankings.

Should we be surprised at this point? Probably not, given what Rachel Lawson’s squad has been able to achieve over the past year, but it’s still great for the kids to finally get recognized.

UK holds claim to one of the best pitching staffs in all of college softball. Behind the arms of sophomore Rachel Riley (2-1, 0.88 ERA), senior Amber Matousek (2-1, 1.00 ERA) and freshman Chanda Bell (6-1, 1.65 ERA), the Cats have a 1.31 ERA.

The offense has gotten off to a bit of a slow start to begin the year but has started to pick it up of late. Senior second baseman Natalie Smith is hitting a team-best .359 at the dish and All-America shortstop Molly Johnson has already popped five home runs.

UK’s entrance to the poll means six teams – men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s tennis and gymnastics – are currently in their respective sport’s top-25 rankings.