LOUISVILLE, Ky. –A red-hot Oklahoma squad dethroned UCLA as the No. 1 team in this week’s 2019 USA Today / NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Riding a 28-game winning streak, the Sooners (38-2) ended the Bruins’ (37-2) five-week run atop the poll.
OU captured 22 first-place votes and 790 points, while No. 2 UCLA received 10 first-place nods and 773 points. The Sooners extended their NCAA Division I-best active winning streak by cruising to three shutouts at Kansas in Big 12 play. Oklahoma last held the top spot in the first regular-season poll of 2018.
The Bruins had their 19-game winning streak snapped by Oregon, 4-3, in the Pac-12 series opener. UCLA bounced back from their first league loss of the season with 8-3 and 8-1 triumphs over the Ducks to win the series.
In addition to a new No. 1, No. 23 Northwestern and No. 25 Colorado State return to the poll following long absences. The Wildcats (33-7), last ranked at No. 25 on April 22, 2014, are on a roll, having won 11 straight. Northwestern swept then-No. 25 Wisconsin over the weekend to remain the lone undefeated program in Big Ten play.
It’s been 21 years since the Rams (31-6) were ranked (23rd- March 4, 1998). CSU is enjoying a record season, which includes a program-record 20-game winning streak and a 13-2 mark for the first-place team in the Mountain West.
No. 3 Washington inched up another spot. The Huskies (35-6) swept their fourth straight Pac-12 series, taking down then-No. 24 Arizona State and extending their winning streak to 13 contests.
Florida State slipped to No. 4 following a weather-shortened 1-1 week. The Seminoles (38-5) dropped a wild 10-9 game at Louisville on April 8, which snapped an unbeaten streak of 52 consecutive ACC series. The last time FSU dropped a league series was May 5-6, 2012 at Maryland. They bounced back with an 8-6 win on April 14 at North Carolina.
No. 5 Alabama and No. 6 Florida went a combined 7-0 last week. The Crimson Tide (41-4) became the first NCAA program to reach the 40-win plateau in 2019 following a win over Georgia State and two versus then-No. 13 Georgia. The Gators (36-9) posted their second straight Southeastern Conference series sweep at Texas A&M and added a 1-0 triumph over in-state rival USF.
No. 7 Arizona and No. 8 Tennessee each moved up one position, while LSU fell two spots to No. 9. The Wildcats (35-7) stepped out of Pac-12 play and swept a three-game set at Grand Canyon, while the Lady Vols (32-8) cruised to a three-game SEC sweep of Mississippi State. The Tigers (36-9) posted a 3-1 mark last week. LSU blanked McNeese State before a 2-1 series win over then-No. 23 Kentucky.
No. 10 Louisiana extended its winning streak to 14 with a 4-0 week. The Ragin’ Cajuns (37-4) defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 7-1, before heading to the mountains of North Carolina for a Sun Belt sweep of Appalachian State.
No. 24 Arizona State (25-17) and No. 25 Wisconsin (30-8) dropped out of the Top-25.
The 2019 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. The records reflect games played through April 14, 2019.
2019 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – April 16 (Week 10)
Rank |
School |
Totals |
2019 Record |
Prev. Ranking |
1 |
Oklahoma (22) |
790 |
38-2 |
2 |
2 |
UCLA (10) |
773 |
37-2 |
1 |
3 |
Washington |
722 |
35-6 |
4 |
4 |
Florida State |
695 |
38-5 |
3 |
5 |
Alabama |
688 |
41-4 |
5 |
6 |
Florida |
609 |
36-9 |
6 |
7 |
Arizona |
600 |
35-7 |
8 |
8 |
Tennessee |
564 |
32-8 |
9 |
9 |
LSU |
560 |
36-9 |
7 |
10 |
Louisiana |
524 |
37-4 |
10 |
11 |
Texas |
477 |
35-9 |
11 |
12 |
Texas Tech |
371 |
33-8 |
15 |
13 |
Oklahoma State |
368 |
32-11 |
14 |
14 |
Auburn |
353 |
33-10 |
12 |
15 |
South Carolina |
350 |
31-12 |
16 |
16 |
Georgia |
330 |
30-13 |
13 |
17 |
Ole Miss |
290 |
30-11 |
17 |
18 |
Minnesota |
248 |
29-10 |
19 |
19 |
Arkansas |
241 |
31-14 |
18 |
20 |
James Madison |
211 |
31-7 |
20 |
21 |
Virginia Tech |
163 |
37-6 |
22 |
22 |
Michigan |
132 |
29-11 |
21 |
23 |
Northwestern |
118 |
33-7 |
RV |
24 |
Kentucky |
94 |
26-17 |
23 |
25 |
Colorado State |
36 |
31-6 |
RV |
New to Poll: No. 23 Northwestern, No. 25 Colorado State.
Dropped Out: No. 24 Arizona State, No. 25 Wisconsin.
Receiving Votes: Stanford (28), Boise State (19), Arizona State (17), Wisconsin (16), Missouri (5), Indiana (3), Mississippi State (2), Drake (1), Louisville (1), Tulsa (1).
The 2019 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. Record reflect games played through April 14, 2019.