LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Oklahoma, the NCAA’s No. 1 overall seed, heads into the postseason atop the final 2022 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll of the regular season. The Sooners (49-2) received 31 of a possible 32 first-place votes and 799 points. Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament champs Florida State picked up one first-place vote and moved into the No. 2 ranking.

OU went 1-1 in the Big 12 tournament, falling in extra innings to Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game. The Sooners open NCAA Regional play with Prairie View A&M on May 20 in Norman.

The sixth-ranked Cowgirls (41-12) upended Kansas, No. 16 Texas and the top-ranked Sooners to capture first-ever Big 12 Tournament title. Oklahoma State earned the No. 7 overall seed and will host Fordham in its NCAA opener.

No. 2 FSU, the NCAA’s overall second seed, collected its 18^th ACC Tournament with an 8-6 win over No. 14 Clemson in the title game. The Seminoles’ (52-5) became the first Division I program to reach the 50-win plateau with three tournament wins, including a semifinal triumph over No. 9 Duke. 

Virginia Tech, Arkansas and UCLA make up the next three spots and are the No. 3, 4 and 5 NCAA Regional seeds. The third-ranked Hokies (41-7) fell in the ACC semifinals to Clemson, following a win over Syracuse. 

The fourth-ranked Razorbacks (44-9) defeated Ole Miss, No. 12 and host Florida and then-No. 24 Missouri to capture their first-ever Southeastern Conference Tournament championship. The fifth-ranked Bruins (43-8) closed out their regular season with a three-game sweep of Cal and finished second in the Pac-12 standings.

The last four spots of the top 10 are filled by No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 Arizona State, No. 9 Duke and No. 10 Northwestern, who all earned national seeds. The eighth-ranked Sun Devils (39-9) took two-of-three from then-No. 10 Washington on the road to clinch the Pac-12 regular-season title, their first since 2011 and third in program history.

The Crimson Tide (41-11) dropped a SEC Tournament quarterfinal matchup with tournament runner-up Missouri, while the Blue Devils (41-8) and Wildcats (40-10) fell in the ACC and Big 10 semifinals, respectively. 

Previously-mentioned Mizzou, the NCAA’s No. 15 seed, made the biggest climb, moving four spots to No. 20, while the NCAA’s 16^th seed and American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion UCF improved three positions to No. 18.

Nebraska returned to No. 25 with its run to a Big Ten Tournament title. The Huskers (40-14) earned three tightly-contested victories, including an eight-inning triumph over No. 24 Michigan in the title game. It marked the first Big Ten tourney title since joining the conference and the first conference tournament title since 2004.

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 May 15. The final poll will be released on Tuesday, June 14 following the conclusion of the 2022 Women’s College World Series.

2022 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll

May 17 (Week 14)  

New to Poll: No. 25 Nebraska

Dropped Out: No. 25 Louisiana

Receiving Votes: Louisiana (38), Stanford (12), Georgia Tech (3), Ole Miss (1), San Diego State (1).

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 May 15, 2022.

The NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded coaches polls and All-America awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to awards, to in-person events and National Convention. 

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