LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following an opening weekend during which Mother Nature did not cooperate, UCLA remained atop and Duke shot up the ranks of this week’s 2021 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Bruins (1-0) captured 31 first-place votes and 799 points, while the Blue Devils jolted to No. 18 after a 4-0 start to their 2021 campaign.
UCLA topped then-RV Fresno State, 7-0, to open its season, but had its final two contests canceled due to COVID-related protocols within the Cal Poly program. Fresh off its first-ever NFCA top-25 ranking in the preseason poll (25th), Duke made the most of its trip to Baton Rouge with four wins, including an 8-4 triumph over Tiger Classic host and then-No. 5 LSU. The Blue Devils also defeated Central Arkansas twice and McNeese State.
Washington remained at No. 2 with a perfect 5-0 showing at UNLV’s Rebel Kickoff. The Huskies (5-0) picked up two wins each over Southern Utah (8-0, 19-13) and Dixie State (6-5, 7-0) and another against the host Rebels (8-2).
Oklahoma’s offense showed no signs of a 300-plus day layoff as it pushed across 70 runs over a four-game stretch at the Miner Invitational hosted by UTEP. Moving into the No. 3 spot this week, the Sooners (4-0) launched an NCAA single-game record 13 home runs in a 29-0 victory over host UTEP. Following 9-0 and 11-0 wins over Abilene Christian, OU hit eight more long balls in a 21-2 triumph over the Miners. For the weekend, the Sooners blasted 24 home runs and registered 69 hits.
A season-opening tournament hosted by No. 7 Texas and featuring No. 5 Alabama and No. 4 Arizona was canceled due to wintery conditions in the Lone Star state. No. 9 Louisiana joined the Longhorns and Wildcats as top-10 programs who were unable to start their 2021 campaigns.
The Crimson Tide rose to the No. 5 spot after they found some last-minute opponents. Alabama’s arms tossed four shutouts and surrendered a total of six hits over 24 innings in victories over Alabama State (10-0), RV Notre Dame (10-0) and Louisville (5-0, 4-0).
No. 6 Florida started the season with road wins against in-state foe USF (6-3, 15-0). LSU dipped to No. 8 as it posted a 2-1 mark with victories over McNeese (8-0) and Kansas (5-3). No. 10 Oregon captured five wins at the GCU Kickoff Classic. The Ducks (5-0) earned two wins each over Weber State (9-0, 8-0) and Montana (8-0, 9-1) and one over the host Lopes (5-3).
No teams moved in or out of the poll, but there was some shuffling amongst teams 12 through 25.
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 Feb. 14.
2021 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – February 16 (Week 1)
|
Rank |
School |
Points |
Record |
Last Week |
|
1 |
UCLA (31) |
799 |
1-0 |
1 |
|
2 |
Washington |
749 |
5-0 |
2 |
|
3 |
Oklahoma (1) |
732 |
4-0 |
4 |
|
4 |
Arizona |
704 |
0-0 |
3 |
|
5 |
Alabama |
639 |
4-0 |
8 |
|
6 |
Florida |
620 |
2-0 |
7 |
|
7 |
Texas |
602 |
0-0 |
6 |
|
8 |
LSU |
559 |
2-1 |
5 |
|
9 |
Louisiana |
539 |
0-0 |
9 |
|
10 |
Oregon |
504 |
5-0 |
10 |
|
11 |
Oklahoma State |
484 |
2-0 |
11 |
|
12 |
Kentucky |
418 |
3-0 |
13 |
|
13 |
Florida State |
408 |
3-1 |
12 |
|
14 |
Virginia Tech |
351 |
3-0 |
15 |
|
15 |
Arizona State |
336 |
4-0 |
16 |
|
16 |
Georgia |
283 |
2-1 |
14 |
|
17 |
Michigan |
261 |
0-0 |
17 |
|
18 |
Duke |
223 |
4-0 |
25 |
|
19 |
South Carolina |
221 |
0-0 |
19 |
|
20 |
Arkansas |
212 |
0-1 |
18 |
|
21 |
Missouri |
181 |
3-1 |
23 |
|
22 |
Mississippi State |
174 |
2-0 |
20 |
|
23 |
Baylor |
127 |
0-0 |
22 |
|
24 |
UCF |
100 |
3-1 |
21 |
|
25 |
Minnesota |
60 |
0-0 |
24 |
Receiving Votes: Utah (32) Tennessee (24), Stanford (22), Liberty (7), Northwestern (7), Oregon State (7), Texas Tech (7), Clemson (6), James Madison (1), Notre Dame (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 Feb. 14.
*Programs not competing in 2021 will not be eligible for ranking consideration.
