LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With its three-peat on the field, Oklahoma also three-peated as the No. 1 team in the final 2023 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The national champions ranked No. 1 over the final 11 weeks of the 2023 season and had held the top spot in 42 of the last 43 polls.
With a perfect 10-0 postseason run, the Sooners (61-1) became just the second team to win three titles in a row (UCLA 1988-20) and finished with a program and NCAA Division I-record 53-game winning streak. They have won five of the last seven national championships and seven overall. Their .984 winning percentage also eclipsed UCLA’s Division I record of .964 (54-2), which stood since 1992.
As the NCAA’s No. 1 overall seed for the fourth straight season, the Sooners sandwiched a run-rule win over fourth-seeded Tennessee around a pair of two-run triumphs over ninth-seeded Stanford (2-0, 4-2 in 9 inn.) before sweeping the three seed Florida State in the Championship Series, 5-0 and 3-1. OU, which went was undefeated (28-0) against nationally-ranked opponents, won Division I’s batting (.366), ERA (0.96) and fielding (.987) crowns, hitting 30 points higher and owning an ERA over a half run lower than the next program.
National runner-up and No. 2 Florida State posted a 3-2 record at the Women’s College World Series and an 8-3 overall postseason mark. In their run to a second runner-up finish in the last three seasons, the Seminoles (58-11) went 3-1 in the Tallahassee Regional and swept Georgia in the Super Regional.
National semifinalists Tennessee and Stanford come in at No. 3 and No. 4 after posting identical 7-2 postseason records. It marks the highest end-of-season rankings for both programs since 2013 (2nd) and 2004 (4th), respectively.
The Lady Vols (51-10) swept through the Knoxville Regional and Super Regional and went 2-2 at the WCWS, defeating Oklahoma State and Alabama and falling to FSU and OU. The Cardinal also swept through the first two rounds, including a road sweep of No. 8 seed Duke in the Durham Super Regional. Stanford picked up wins over Alabama and Washington in Oklahoma City. It is Stanford’s highest finish in the national polls since
The final four WCWS participants – Washington, Oklahoma State, Alabama and Utah - make up the No. 5 through 8 spots in the rankings. Rounding out the top 10 are Atlantic Coast Conference foes and Super Regional entrees, No. 9 Clemson and No. 10 Duke. With these two programs, along with FSU, the ACC matched the Pac-12 for the most top-10 teams (3) in the final rankings. The eighth-ranked Utes earned their highest ranking in program history.
Two unranked Super Regional participants Louisiana and San Diego State entered the polls for the first time at No. 18 and 19. The Ragin’ Cajuns (50-16) and the Aztecs (39-17) won the Baton Rouge and Los Angeles Regionals, respectively.
UCLA, which was the first team eliminated from the Los Angeles Regional, dropped 11 spots to No. 13 and is ranked outside the top 10 for the first time since May 2, 2017 (12th). It is also the Bruins’ first end-of-season ranking outside the top 10 since 2013.
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.
2023 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
June 13 (Final)
|
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
2023 Record |
Last Ranking |
|
1 |
Oklahoma (32) |
800 |
61-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Florida State |
766 |
58-11 |
3 |
|
3 |
Tennessee |
725 |
51-10 |
4 |
|
4 |
Stanford |
712 |
47-15 |
7 |
|
5 |
Washington |
658 |
44-15 |
6 |
|
6 |
Oklahoma State |
643 |
47-16 |
9 |
|
7 |
Alabama |
607 |
45-22 |
12 |
|
8 |
Utah |
539 |
42-16 |
17 |
|
9 |
Clemson |
515 |
49-12 |
10 |
|
10 |
Duke |
488 |
48-12 |
5 |
|
11 |
Texas |
458 |
45-15-1 |
8 |
|
12 |
Northwestern |
439 |
42-13 |
15 |
|
13 |
UCLA |
414 |
52-7 |
2 |
|
14 |
Georgia |
398 |
42-15 |
14 |
|
15 |
Oregon |
352 |
38-17 |
19 |
|
16 |
LSU |
276 |
42-17 |
11 |
|
17 |
Arkansas |
267 |
40-19 |
13 |
|
18 |
Louisiana |
239 |
50-16 |
RV |
|
19 |
San Diego State |
202 |
39-17 |
NR |
|
20 |
Auburn |
192 |
43-19 |
16 |
|
21 |
Florida |
157 |
38-22 |
20 |
|
22 |
Baylor |
132 |
40-18 |
18 |
|
23 |
Wichita State |
115 |
44-12 |
21 |
|
24 |
Kentucky |
73 |
31-22-1 |
22 |
|
25 |
South Carolina |
55 |
40-22 |
RV |
New To Poll: No. 18 Louisiana, No. 19 San Diego State, No. 25 South Carolina
Dropped Out: No. 23 Central Arkansas, No. 24 Virginia Tech, No. 25 Boston University
Receiving Votes: Virginia Tech (39), Central Arkansas (35), McNeese State (29), Middle Tennessee State (24), Liberty (21), Texas A&M (8), Miami University (6), Indiana (5), Charlotte (4), Nebraska (4), Boston University (3).
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.
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