LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Oklahoma kept its hold on No. 1 and the top five remained the same in this week’s 2021 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. Ranked first for the 11th straight week, the Sooners, who captured Bedlam with a 2-1 series win over No. 9 Oklahoma State, received 25 first-place votes and 793 points.
With the Big 12 regular season on the line, OU (42-2) rebounded from a 6-4 game-one defeat in Stillwater with 6-4 and 11-8 triumphs to wrap up its ninth consecutive regular-season title. The Sooners also earned a mid-week win over then-No. 25 Wichita State. The series-opening victory by the Cowgirls (40-8) was their first over the Sooners since 2011 and it also handed OU its first Big 12 regular season loss since 2017.
No. 2 UCLA (38-3) collected five first-place votes (773) following a 6-0 week, which included a four-game sweep of Stanford, three of which came via shutout. Earning the final first-place vote, No. 3 Alabama (42-7) swept RV Ole Miss in its final regular-season Southeastern Conference (SEC) series.
No. 4 Florida closed at the regular season with a SEC series sweep of Texas A&M, which included a pair of comeback victories over the Aggies. The Gators (40-8) clinched their ninth regular-season title, sharing it with No. 6 Arkansas, and will be the No. 1 seed at the SEC Tournament. UF was the only program to win every conference series in 2021.
Fifth-ranked Washington collected four wins over Utah in Pac-12 play. No. 7 and No. 8 Arizona each dropped on spot. The Seminoles (38-9-1) took two-of-three from Pitt in an Atlantic Coast Conference finale, while the Wildcats (40-8) split their four-game set with then-No. 12 Oregon on the road.
No. 10 Texas returned to the top-10, blanking Baylor in a three-game Big 12 sweep of the Bears.
Liberty makes its first-ever appearance in the rankings at No. 25. The Flames (39-13) won the ASUN North Division title and reached the tournament semifinals taking two-of-three from Lipscomb in the quarterfinal round.
The 2021 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 May 9. Programs not competing in 2021 will not be eligible for ranking consideration.
2021 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – May 11 (Week 13)
Rank |
School |
Points |
Record |
Last Week |
1 |
Oklahoma (25) |
793 |
42-2 |
1 |
2 |
UCLA (6) |
773 |
38-3 |
2 |
3 |
Alabama (1) |
724 |
42-7 |
3 |
4 |
Florida |
711 |
40-8 |
4 |
5 |
Washington |
671 |
39-9 |
5 |
6 |
Arkansas |
588 |
40-8 |
8 |
7 |
Florida State |
587 |
38-9-1 |
6 |
8 |
Arizona |
567 |
35-10 |
7 |
9 |
Oklahoma State |
566 |
40-8 |
9 |
10 |
Texas |
484 |
38-9 |
11 |
11 |
Oregon |
468 |
33-15 |
12 |
12 |
Arizona State |
465 |
32-14 |
10 |
13 |
Clemson |
426 |
40-5 |
13 |
14 |
Louisiana |
356 |
40-10 |
14 |
15 |
Missouri |
342 |
37-14 |
15 |
16 |
LSU |
313 |
31-18 |
16 |
17 |
Kentucky |
300 |
38-12 |
18 |
18 |
Michigan |
257 |
32-6 |
19 |
19 |
Tennessee |
234 |
39-12 |
17 |
20 |
Virginia Tech |
192 |
32-12 |
20 |
21 |
Duke |
183 |
39-10 |
21 |
22 |
JMU |
97 |
31-1 |
24 |
23 |
Minnesota |
82 |
26-10 |
23 |
24 |
Wichita State |
66 |
37-11-1 |
25 |
25 |
Liberty |
36 |
39-13 |
RV |
New to Poll: No. 25 Liberty
Dropped Out: No. 22 Georgia
Receiving Votes: Georgia (25), Notre Dame (23), Ole Miss (21), Fresno State (15), Mississippi State (13), UCF (7), Miami University (6), Boston University (5), USF (3), Cal State Fullerton (1).
The 2021 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 May 9.
*Programs not competing in 2021 will not be eligible for ranking consideration.