Softball benchmarks: what each level actually looks like
These are the numbers Athlete Quotient scores every softball athlete against - not a coach's opinion, and not a chart copied from a message board. One page covers every position, because in softball the ladders are the same across the field for everything except throw velocity - and pretending otherwise would just be the same table printed eight times.
Softball benchmarks by level
| Metric | D1 elite | D1 | D1 floor | D2 | D3 | HS varsity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home to 1st (sec) | 2.75 | 2.90 | 3.05 | 3.10 | 3.20 | 3.35 |
| Average Exit Velocity (mph) | 78 | 70 | 66 | 65 | 63 | 58 |
| Bat Speed (mph) | 70 | 63 | 60 | 58 | 55 | 52 |
| Batting Average | .380 | .283 | .258 | .248 | .233 | .213 |
| sb_fielding_pct | .985 | .962 | .952 | .947 | .937 | .922 |
| Throw Velocity (mph) | 65 | 60 | 57 | 55 | 52 | 48 |
Pitcher benchmarks
| Metric | D1 elite | D1 | D1 floor | D2 | D3 | HS varsity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitching Velocity (mph) | 70 | 63 | 60 | 58 | 55 | 52 |
| ERA | 1.500 | 4.283 | 4.683 | 4.983 | 5.283 | 5.783 |
Throw velocity by position group
The one metric where softball positions genuinely differ. Everything above applies across the field.
| Position group | D1 elite | D1 | D1 floor | D2 | D3 | HS varsity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infield (1B, 2B, 3B, SS) | 65 | 60 | 57 | 55 | 52 | 48 |
| Catcher | 64 | 59 | 56 | 53 | 51 | 47 |
| Outfield (LF, CF, RF) | 68 | 62 | 58 | 55 | 52 | 48 |
See where your numbers actually land
A table tells you the bar. Your AQ Score tells you where you stand against it - all five dimensions, your gaps, and the level you actually fit, scored by the same engine these benchmarks come from. Your first score is free.
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Common questions
What is a good average exit velocity for a softball player?
Athlete Quotient's D1 benchmark is 70. The D2 rung is 65, D3 is 63, and high school varsity is 58. The elite D1 rung is 78.
What is a good home to 1st for a softball player?
Athlete Quotient's D1 benchmark is 2.90. The D2 rung is 3.10, D3 is 3.20, and high school varsity is 3.35. The elite D1 rung is 2.75.
How to read these
Each column is a rung on the Athlete Quotient benchmark ladder - the bar the engine scores every athlete against - not a cutoff and not an entry price. Being under a rung does not close a door. It tells you the size of the gap, which is the only number you can actually train against.
These are Athlete Quotient's own benchmarks. Where a published college figure exists we use it; where none exists, the rung is ours. We would rather say that than claim a source we do not have.
These tables are the same ones the scoring engine uses, exported from it rather than retyped, so a page can never quietly disagree with a score. More: how AQ builds benchmarks.