LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Oklahoma maintained its hold on No. 1 and the top five remained intact in this week’s 2022 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Sooners (29-0) were part of a top five that went a perfect 19-0 last week.
OU needed a two-out walk-off home run by Tiare Jennings to edge Baylor 3-1 and complete the sweep in its Big 12 opening series. Prior to Sunday’s nail biter, the Sooner posted two eight-run wins over the Bears and a third on the road at No. 8 Kentucky.
No. 2 Florida State (30-2) became the first Division I program to reach the 30-win plateau after it picked up three non-conference road wins over Troy and FIU. No. 3 UCLA earned four top-10 wins in Pac-12 play. After completing a three-game sweep of Arizona on March 21, the Bruins (28-3) swept then-No. 9 Washington on the road (3-2, 4-0, 5-4).
No. 4 Alabama (28-4) went on the road for a win over UAB and three in Southeastern Conference action at South Carolina. Also on the road, Virginia Tech (25-3) swept a doubleheader from in-state foe Longwood and took the first two Atlantic Coast Conference matchups against Pitt before the finale was canceled.
Following a three-game Big 12 sweep of Texas Tech, Oklahoma State (26-6) moved into the sixth spot, while Florida (27-5) slipped to No. 7 after dropping two-of-three at home to new-No. 13 Tennessee (22-9).
Kentucky stayed at No. 8 going 2-2 last week, Rebounding from a non-conference defeat by the Sooners, the Wildcats (22-7) captured their SEC series against then-No. 18 with triumphs in games one and three.
Northwestern and Arkansas round out the top 10. The Wildcats (22-4) at No. 9 are riding a 12-game winning streak after sweeping Michigan State to open Big Ten play. The Razorbacks (21-6) knocked off RV Western Kentucky on the road and split the first two game against then-No. 22 LSU.
Arizona State (25-5) made the biggest move up the poll, jumping four spots to No. 16 following a sweep of then No. 14 Arizona in Tucson as the Sun Devils (25-5) ran their win streak to 14 games.
No. 25 Notre Dame (23-6) moved back into the top-25, while Stanford dropped out.
The 2022 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 March 27.
2022 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
March 29 (Week 7)
|
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
2022 Record |
Prev. Ranking |
|
1 |
Oklahoma (32) |
800 |
29-0 |
1 |
|
2 |
Florida State |
764 |
30-2 |
2 |
|
3 |
UCLA |
739 |
28-3 |
3 |
|
4 |
Alabama |
702 |
28-4 |
4 |
|
5 |
Virginia Tech |
675 |
25-3 |
5 |
|
6 |
Oklahoma State |
619 |
24-6 |
7 |
|
7 |
Florida |
586 |
27-5 |
6 |
|
8 |
Kentucky |
538 |
22-7 |
8 |
|
9 |
Northwestern |
530 |
22-4 |
11 |
|
10 |
Arkansas |
508 |
21-6 |
10 |
|
11 |
Washington |
467 |
20-10 |
9 |
|
12 |
Oregon |
444 |
24-5 |
12 |
|
13 |
Tennessee |
442 |
22-9 |
15 |
|
14 |
Duke |
382 |
23-5 |
13 |
|
15 |
Georgia |
330 |
29-5 |
17 |
|
16 |
Arizona State |
315 |
25-5 |
20 |
|
17 |
Auburn |
268 |
27-4 |
18 |
|
18 |
Clemson |
259 |
21-10 |
16 |
|
19 |
Arizona |
200 |
19-10 |
14 |
|
20 |
LSU |
175 |
22-11 |
22 |
|
21 |
Texas |
161 |
26-9-1 |
24 |
|
22 |
UCF |
145 |
29-7 |
23 |
|
23 |
Michigan |
131 |
18-9 |
19 |
|
24 |
Missouri |
58 |
19-12 |
21 |
|
25 |
Notre Dame |
55 |
23-6 |
RV |
New to Poll: No. 25 Notre Dame
Dropped Out: No. 25 Stanford
Receiving Votes: Louisiana (34), Boise State (22), Oregon State (18), Stanford (12), USF (7), Georgia Tech (4), California (3), USC Upstate (3), Ohio State (2), Western Kentucky (2).
The 2022 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 March 27, 2022.
