LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Oklahoma remained No. 1, while a pair of red-hot teams, Tennessee and Stanford, made moves in this week’s 2023 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Lady Vols (20-1) took over the No. 5 spot, while the Cardinal (22-2) elevated into the top 10 at No. 7.
The Sooners (20-1), received 31 first-place votes and 798 points, swept through three games at Mississippi State’s Bulldog Invitational. OU defeated the hosts twice, 7-0, 9-3, and blanked Southeast Louisiana, 13-0.
New No. 2 Oklahoma State took two-of-three from then-No. 5 in a top-five matchup in Stillwater, Okla. The Cowgirls (20-2) rebounded from an opening 7-5 loss with 9-1 and 3-2 victories over the Seminoles (21-5). FSU dipped one position to No. 6 this week.
Clemson continues at No. 4, extending its win streak to 11 games after posting five non-conference home victories last week.
Tennessee is on a 15-game win streak and recorded three more shutouts, bringing its season total to 14, during a 4-0 week. After rolling past Tennessee Tech, 19-0, the Lady Vols swept Ole Miss (6-0, 8-2, 1-0) in their Southeastern Conference (SEC) opener.
With three shutouts last week, Stanford pushed its shutout and win streaks to eight and 20 contests, respectively, while bringing its season shutout total to 15. The Cardinal blanked No. 23 Wichita State, 11-0, on the road and opened the Jayhawk Invitational with 6-0 and 9-0 triumphs over South Dakota State and host Kansas.
Florida and Washington held on to No. 8 and No. 10. The Gators (19-4) posted a 5-1 mark at home and the Huskies (20-4) took their opening Pac-12 series from then-No. 21 Oregon.
Arkansas dipped three spots to No. 9 after a 1-3 week at home. The Razorbacks (20-6) were edged by Central Arkansas on March 6 and then dropped two-of-three to new-No. 24 Texas A&M in both teams’ SEC opener.
The Aggies (16-7) enter the rankings this week, along with the return of No. 25 Maryland (19-4). Exiting the top-25 are No. 24 Northwestern and No. 25 Missouri.
The 2023 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 12, 2023.
2023 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
March 14 (Week 5)
|
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
2023 Record |
Last Week’s Ranking |
|
1 |
Oklahoma (31) |
798 |
20-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Oklahoma State |
745 |
20-2 |
3 |
|
3 |
UCLA |
738 |
25-2 |
2 |
|
4 |
Clemson (1) |
708 |
25-1 |
4 |
|
5 |
Tennessee |
661 |
20-1 |
7 |
|
6 |
Florida State |
653 |
21-5 |
5 |
|
7 |
Stanford |
568 |
22-2 |
12 |
|
8 |
Florida |
557 |
19-4 |
8 |
|
9 |
Arkansas |
517 |
20-6 |
6 |
|
10 |
Washington |
501 |
20-4 |
10 |
|
11 |
Texas |
488 |
21-4-1 |
9 |
|
12 |
LSU |
460 |
21-1 |
14 |
|
13 |
Virginia Tech |
433 |
19-5 |
11 |
|
14 |
Kentucky |
368 |
16-5-1 |
16 |
|
15 |
Duke |
344 |
20-5 |
15 |
|
16 |
Alabama |
336 |
20-6 |
13 |
|
17 |
Arizona |
291 |
17-7 |
17 |
|
18 |
Georgia |
256 |
20-6 |
19 |
|
19 |
Auburn |
184 |
21-5 |
18 |
|
20 |
Oregon |
178 |
17-6 |
21 |
|
21 |
Baylor |
143 |
18-4 |
20 |
|
22 |
Arizona State |
102 |
16-5 |
22 |
|
23 |
Wichita State |
77 |
19-5 |
23 |
|
24 |
Texas A&M |
63 |
16-7 |
RV |
|
25 |
Maryland |
55 |
19-4 |
RV |
New To Poll: No. 24 Texas A&M, No. 25 Maryland
Dropped Out: No. 24 Northwestern, No. 25 Missouri
Receiving Votes: Northwestern (44), Louisiana (42), Utah (36), Missouri (15), Texas State (12), Mississippi State (7), San Diego State (7), Cal State Fullerton (6), California (2), Nebraska (2), UCF (2), Boston University (1).
The 2023 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 12.
Celebrating 40 years in 2023, the NFCA 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.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining our lineup of coaches today! In November 2022, for the first time in Association history, the NFCA surpassed 6,700 members.
