LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Behind a perfect week and coupled with another defeat by then-No. 1 Oklahoma, Texas took over the top spot in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Longhorns (35-6) are the NFCA’s No. 1 team for the first time since 2006 and snapped the Sooners’ streak of 21 consecutive weeks atop the rankings.
Carrying the momentum from its Big 12 series win over the Sooners two weekends ago, Texas won four more games last week. The Longhorns topped then-No. 25 Texas State at home before sweeping then-RV Baylor to move within a game of OU in the league standings. It is just the third time overall the Longhorns are No. 1, holding that spot in back-to-back polls (March 29 and April 5, 2006).
Texas was just one of five programs in the rankings to come out unscathed last week. Also enjoying undefeated weeks were No. 8 Washington (28-7), No. 12 UCLA (24-9), No. 18 Florida State (31-10) and No. 23 Boston University (35-4).
The Sooners (38-4) fell to No. 2 as they went 3-1, picking up a road win at Wichita State and taking two-of-three from BYU in Big 12 action.
Duke and Tennessee held their No. 3 and No. 4 rankings. The Blue Devils (37-4) swept then-No. 19 Clemson in ACC play, but did drop a mid-week non-conference contest at home to Campbell. The Lady Vols (32-7) took two-of-three from then-No. 16 Mississippi State (29-12) in Starkville.
Pac-12 foes Stanford (34-7) and previously-mentioned Washington rose to No. 5 and 8, respectively. No. 6 Oklahoma State (35-8), No. 7 LSU (33-7) and No. 10 Florida (35-9) each fell a spot, while Georgia (33-10) stumbled two more places to No. 9. Those four programs dropped at least two contests apiece and went a combined 8-10 last week.
The only team making a move into the top 20 is Arizona (28-13-1), which climbed up two spots to No. 19, while Clemson (28-14) fell out to No. 21.
Rejoining the rankings are No. 24 Kentucky (25-15) and No. 25 Louisiana (29-14), seeing then-No. 23 South Carolina (29-15) and Texas State (33-12) exit the top 25.
The 2024 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches with one representing each of the NCAA’s Division I Conferences. Results are through April 14. The poll is revealed each Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. ET during the regular season.
2024 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
4/16/24 (Week 10)
|
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
Record |
Previous Ranking |
|
1 |
Texas (24) |
791 |
35-6 |
2 |
|
2 |
Oklahoma (8) |
766 |
38-4 |
1 |
|
3 |
Duke |
734 |
37-4 |
3 |
|
4 |
Tennessee |
700 |
32-7 |
4 |
|
5 |
Stanford |
655 |
34-7 |
8 |
|
6 |
Oklahoma State |
597 |
35-8 |
5 |
|
7 |
LSU |
564 |
33-7 |
6 |
|
8 |
Washington |
549 |
28-7 |
10 |
|
9 |
Georgia |
540 |
33-10 |
7 |
|
10 |
Florida |
495 |
35-9 |
9 |
|
11 |
Texas A&M |
480 |
32-9 |
11 |
|
12 |
UCLA |
442 |
24-9 |
t12 |
|
13 |
Missouri |
432 |
33-11 |
14 |
|
14 |
Alabama |
407 |
30-9 |
t12 |
|
15 |
Virginia Tech |
382 |
31-9-1 |
15 |
|
16 |
Arkansas |
302 |
30-11 |
17 |
|
17 |
Mississippi State |
300 |
29-12 |
16 |
|
18 |
Florida State |
295 |
31-10 |
18 |
|
19 |
Arizona |
200 |
28-13-1 |
21 |
|
20 |
California |
152 |
29-12 |
20 |
|
21 |
Clemson |
134 |
28-14 |
19 |
|
22 |
Oregon |
117 |
24-15 |
22 |
|
23 |
Boston University |
93 |
35-4 |
24 |
|
24 |
Kentucky |
61 |
26-15 |
RV |
|
25 |
Louisiana |
57 |
29-14 |
RV |
New to Poll: No. 24 Kentucky, No. 25 Louisiana
Dropped Out: No. 23 South Carolina, No. 25 Texas State
Receiving Votes: South Carolina (55), Northwestern (35), Miami (31), Texas State (16), Auburn (15), Kansas (1), FAU (1), Grand Canyon (1).
The 2024 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches with one representing each of the NCAA’s Division I Conferences. Records reflect games played through April 14. Poll is released on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. ET during the regular season.
The 2024 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches with one representing each of the NCAA’s Division I Conferences. Records reflect games played through April 7. Poll is released on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. ET during the regular season.
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