LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Cal State Fullerton breaks through for the first time since 2008 and the top six held steady in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. Florida earned 31 of 32 first-place votes and 799 points to claim No. 1 for the 10th time this season.
Returning to the poll for the first time since Feb. 19, 2008, the Titans (38-10) have won 13 straight and 27 of their last 30, which include victories over Oklahoma and Fresno State, while their three losses came at the hands of nationally-ranked Florida State, Alabama and UCLA, the latter two by one run. Cal State Fullerton is the first new team to enter the top-25 since Week 7.
The Gators (45-3) extended their winning streak to 11 games as they grabbed four home wins against new-No. 22 USF and a sweep of Mississippi State (16-0, 6-3, 3-1 in 10).
Michigan, who earned the other first-place vote and 767 points, also went 4-0 at home. In Big Ten play, the Wolverines (37-4) topped Michigan State in a mid-week contest and swept Maryland over the weekend. Michigan outscored its foes, 41-1 in four run-rule victories.
No. 3 Auburn and No. 4 each dropped a game to nationally-ranked opponents. The Tigers (45-5) split a mid-week top-10 twin bill with new-No. 7 Florida State, winning the opener 9-6. They went on to sweep then-No. 13 Georgia (4-3, 13-2, 2-1), rallying late in games one and three, including a walk-off Kasey Cooper three-run homer in the opener.
The Crimson Tide (41-9) edged South Alabama 4-2 and took two-of-three at home from No. 11 Kentucky. Alabama was nipped 3-2 in the opener and rebounded with 7-1 and 3-0 triumphs.
No. 5 Oregon returned from a 11-day break and showed no signs of rust with a three-game Pac-12 road sweep of then-No. 25 Arizona State. The Ducks (35-6) opened with a 10-4 win and then closed out the series with a pair of close victories (5-4, 7-4). No. 6 James Madison reached the 40-win plateau after a three-game sweep of CAA opponent Delaware (8-0, 6-5, 11-2).
Florida State (38-5) moved up a spot to No. 7 after a 4-1 week which included a 4-3 win at No. 3 Auburn and a three-game ACC sweep of Virginia Tech (2-0, 3-1, 13-1).
Louisiana-Lafayette (35-6) fell to No. 8 after it swept Appalachian State at home (13-4, 14-2, 14-0). No. 9 Oklahoma extended its winning streak to 13 games with road wins at Arkansas (3-1) and then-No. 12 Tennessee (9-0). Allowing just one run on the week and zero in Knoxville, the Sooners (38-7) capped off their Rocky Top trip with 9-0 and 2-0 triumphs against Radford and Lipscomb. No. 10 Washington went 2-1 at Oregon State (3-2 in 10, 2-3, 7-2).
As Cal State Fullerton joined the poll, Arizona State dropped out for the first time since the 2006 preseason poll.
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Records reflect games played through April 24, 2016.
2016 USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Coaches Poll
Week 11 | April 26, 2016 (Results through 4/24)
| Rank | Team | Totals | 2016 Record | Last Poll |
| 1 | Florida (31) | 799 | 45-3 | 1 |
| 2 | Michigan (1) | 767 | 37-4 | 2 |
| 3 | Auburn | 733 | 45-5 | 3 |
| 4 | Alabama | 686 | 41-9 | 4 |
| 5 | Oregon | 668 | 35-6 | 5 |
| 6 | James Madison | 631 | 40-3 | 6 |
| 7 | Florida State | 605 | 38-5 | 8 |
| 8 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 589 | 35-6 | 7 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | 555 | 38-7 | 9 |
| 10 | Washington | 495 | 30-10 | 10 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 473 | 39-11 | 11 |
| 12 | LSU | 424 | 36-13 | 14 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 419 | 35-12 | 12 |
| 14 | Georgia | 377 | 37-13 | 13 |
| 15 | UCLA | 357 | 29-13-1 | 15 |
| 16 | Missouri | 303 | 33-12 | 19 |
| 17 | Arizona | 285 | 32-13 | 17 |
| 18 | Texas A&M | 258 | 33-13 | 16 |
| 19 | Notre Dame | 215 | 35-7 | 18 |
| 20 | Fresno State | 181 | 34-9-1 | 20 |
| 21 | Baylor | 172 | 39-12 | 21 |
| 22 | USF | 118 | 42-11 | 23 |
| 23 | Florida Atlantic | 117 | 41-7 | 22 |
| 24 | Minnesota | 85 | 32-12 | 24 |
| 25 | Cal State Fullerton | 30 | 38-10 | RV |
Dropped Out: Arizona State
New to Poll: Cal State Fullerton
Receiving Votes: Arizona State (19), Utah (15), Texas (8), Nebraska (4), Ohio State (1), Oregon State (1).
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference.
