LOUISVILLE, Ky. – While Oklahoma swept Bedlam and kept a firm grip on No. 1, other programs made significant movement in this week’s 2023 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Sooners (49-1), who already had the Big 12 regular season wrapped up, put together four more wins, including a three-game sweep of then-No. 7 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The victories ran OU’s nation-best win streak to 41 and gave the Sooners their third undefeated Big 12 regular season in program history. Additionally, it’s the second consecutive season the Sooners have finished the regular season with just one defeat.
No. 2 UCLA reached the 50-win plateau with a trio of non-conference victories. No. 3 Florida State secured the Atlantic Coast regular-season for the 14th time with a three-game sweep of then-RV Louisville, while fourth-ranked Tennessee clinched its second Southeastern Conference regular season crown with two wins over South Carolina.
The movement began at No. 5. Following a Pac-12 series win over Stanford, Washington is up four spots and sits in the fifth position. The Huskies (37-11) are followed by an idle Duke at No. 6 and the previously-mentioned Cardinal at No. 7.
The Cowgirls (41-13), who also fell at North Texas, dipped to No. 8 with Clemson moving up to No. 9 after an idle week. Taking the biggest hit was Texas, who slid all the way down to No. 10 after it was upended by new-No. 15 Baylor in Waco. Highlighted by a game-three extra-inning walk off, the Bears (39-15) swept the Longhorns (40-12-1) for the first time since 2018.
LSU (40-14) jumped four spots to No. 11 after an SEC-series win over then-No. 11 Georgia and Utah moved up three positions after a Pac-12 sweep of then-No. 13 Oregon in Eugene. The Bulldogs (39-12) and Ducks (35-14) both dipped to No. 13 and 17, respectively.
Making its first appearance of the season is Boston University at No. 25. The Terriers (48-8) secured their fifth straight Patriot League title with a series win at Lehigh. The triumphs in the first two games of the series brought BU to a program-record 48 wins and a 28-game win streak before the Mountain Hawks snapped it in the finale.
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 May 7, 2023.
2023 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
May 9 (Week 13)
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
2023 Record |
Last Week’s Ranking |
1 |
Oklahoma (32) |
800 |
49-1 |
1 |
2 |
UCLA |
768 |
50-4 |
2 |
3 |
Florida State |
735 |
47-8 |
3 |
4 |
Tennessee |
685 |
41-8 |
4 |
5 |
Washington |
646 |
37-11 |
9 |
6 |
Duke |
615 |
43-9 |
8 |
7 |
Stanford |
588 |
39-12 |
6 |
8 |
Oklahoma State |
559 |
41-13 |
7 |
9 |
Clemson |
545 |
45-8 |
10 |
10 |
Texas |
534 |
40-12-1 |
5 |
11 |
LSU |
445 |
40-14 |
15 |
12 |
Arkansas |
428 |
38-16 |
12 |
13 |
Georgia |
417 |
39-12 |
11 |
14 |
Alabama |
398 |
38-17 |
14 |
15 |
Baylor |
336 |
39-15 |
20 |
16 |
Auburn |
324 |
39-16 |
17 |
17 |
Oregon |
264 |
35-14 |
13 |
18 |
Florida |
224 |
35-19 |
16 |
19 |
Northwestern |
216 |
35-11 |
19 |
20 |
Wichita State |
203 |
43-9 |
18 |
21 |
Utah |
185 |
34-13 |
24 |
22 |
Kentucky |
143 |
30-19-1 |
23 |
23 |
Virginia Tech |
132 |
36-17 |
21 |
24 |
Central Arkansas |
121 |
39-9 |
22 |
25 |
Boston University |
30 |
48-8 |
RV |
New To Poll: No. 25 Boston University
Dropped Out: No. 25 Texas A&M
Receiving Votes: Texas A&M (22), Louisiana (19), Marshall (18).
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 May 7.
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