LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Defending national champion Oklahoma is the unanimous No. 1 team in the 2022 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll. Receiving all 32 first-place votes, the Sooners enter this year No. 1, a spot they held for the final 13 weeks of 2021.
The 2021 campaign was one for the record books. Capturing its fifth national title, the third in the last five years, OU (56-4) set multiple single-season NCAA records, including team batting average (.405), team slugging percentage (.778), on-base percentage (.490), home runs (161) and runs scored (638), among others. The Sooners navigated through the elimination bracket with four straight victories and then knocked off Florida State, two games to one in the Championship Series.
National semifinalist and Southeastern Conference (SEC) preseason favorites Alabama (52-9) followed at No. 2 with UCLA (47-7), national runner-up Florida State (49-13-1) and Oklahoma State (48-12) rounding out the top five. The Seminoles were voted to win the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), while the Cowgirls were selected second in the Big 12’s preseason poll.
Florida and Arkansas, picked second and third in the SEC, come in at No. 6 and No. 8. Pac-12 foes and WCWS participants Washington and Arizona open 2022 ranked No. 7 and No. 9 with No. 10 Texas finalizing the top 10.
The Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC each had a trio of programs in the top 10. In all, the SEC led the way with eight institutions in the top 25. The Pac-12 had five representatives, followed by four from the ACC and three from the Big 12. Joining the top-10 SEC teams were No. 11 Missouri, No. 12 Georgia, No. 14 LSU, No. 19 Kentucky and No. 22 Tennessee.
No. 18 Oregon and No. 21 Arizona State, along with No. 13 Virginia Tech, No. 15 Clemson and No. 20 Duke make up the rest of the Pac-12 and ACC programs.
Finalizing the preseason rankings are No. 16 Michigan (Big Ten), No. 23 Louisiana (Sun Belt), No. 24 Liberty (ASUN) and No. 25 Wichita State (American Athletic Conference). The latter two were voted their league’s 2022 favorites.
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. The first poll of the regular season will be published on Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. ET.
2022 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
February 1 (Preseason)
|
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
Final 2021 |
Final 2021 |
|
1 |
Oklahoma (32) |
800 |
56-4 |
1 |
|
2 |
Alabama |
758 |
52-9 |
3 |
|
3 |
UCLA |
700 |
47-7 |
5 |
|
4 |
Florida State |
696 |
49-13-1 |
2 |
|
5 |
Oklahoma State |
680 |
48-12 |
6 |
|
6 |
Florida |
601 |
45-11 |
9 |
|
7 |
Washington |
571 |
45-14 |
10 |
|
8 |
Arkansas |
515 |
43-11 |
11 |
|
9 |
Arizona |
499 |
41-15 |
7 |
|
10 |
Texas |
491 |
43-14 |
12 |
|
11 |
Missouri |
421 |
42-17 |
13 |
|
12 |
Georgia |
416 |
34-23 |
8 |
|
13 |
Virginia Tech |
385 |
37-15 |
14 |
|
14 |
LSU |
361 |
35-22 |
15 |
|
15 |
Clemson |
346 |
44-8 |
18 |
|
16 |
Michigan |
321 |
38-8 |
19 |
|
17 |
JMU |
286 |
41-4 |
4 |
|
18 |
Oregon |
282 |
40-17 |
17 |
|
19 |
Kentucky |
278 |
43-16 |
16 |
|
20 |
Duke |
275 |
44-12 |
20 |
|
21 |
Arizona State |
185 |
33-16 |
21 |
|
22 |
Tennessee |
178 |
42-15 |
23 |
|
23 |
Louisiana |
128 |
47-12 |
22 |
|
24 |
Liberty |
62 |
44-15 |
25 |
|
25 |
Wichita State |
59 |
41-13-1 |
24 |
Receiving Votes: UCF (21), Minnesota (19), Auburn (18), Northwestern (14), Notre Dame (14), Ole Miss (8), Iowa State (4), Stanford (4), Alabama State (1), BYU (1), Fresno State (1), Mississippi 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.
