Cal State Fullerton makes first appearance in USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll since 2008

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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