LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Oklahoma posted four more wins as it remained No. 1 in this week’s 2023 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Sooners received 30 first-place votes and 798 points.
The Sooners (17-1) allowed one run and posted three shutouts as it swept a pair of home games from UIC (5-0, 9-0) and then No. 17 Kentucky (18-0, 7-1).
The top-11 teams did not drop a game last week and there was only one defeat amongst the top 15. With that, the first nine spots did not change. Washington took over the No. 10 ranking from Virginia Tech.
UCLA, earned the final two first-place votes, after a 5-0 showing at the Judi Garman Classic. The Bruins (22-1) are one of three top-5 programs to reach the 20-win barrier and five top-25 programs overall.
No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Clemson and No. 5 Florida State went 5-0 at their home stadiums last week. The Cowgirls (18-1), picked up five home wins, including a 6-3 triumph over then-No. 24 Missouri. The Tigers (20-3) earned a mid-week twinbill sweep of Gardner-Webb and opened Atlantic Coast Conference play taking all three from Syracuse, while the Seminoles (20-3) captured five more non-conference wins.
No. 6 Arkansas, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 9 Texas went a combined 17-0 in non-conference action at home, while No. 8 Florida swept three games from UAB on the road.
No. 10 Washington knocked off five teams including 20-win Grand Canyon at the Arizona State/Grand Canyon Classic.
The only significant movement came with Duke slipping three spots to No. 15, while Stanford and Wichita State moved up two positions each to No. 12 and No. 23, respectively, while Northwestern dipped from No. 22 to No. 24.
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 5, 2023.
2023 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
March 7 (Week 4)
|
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
2023 Record |
Last Week’s Ranking |
|
1 |
Oklahoma (30) |
798 |
17-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
UCLA (2) |
770 |
22-1 |
2 |
|
3 |
Oklahoma State |
732 |
18-1 |
3 |
|
4 |
Clemson |
693 |
20-1 |
4 |
|
5 |
Florida State |
662 |
20-3 |
5 |
|
6 |
Arkansas |
636 |
19-3 |
6 |
|
7 |
Tennessee |
606 |
16-1 |
7 |
|
8 |
Florida |
536 |
14-3 |
8 |
|
9 |
Texas |
519 |
17-2-1 |
9 |
|
10 |
Washington |
483 |
18-3 |
11 |
|
11 |
Virginia Tech |
476 |
14-4 |
10 |
|
12 |
Stanford |
438 |
19-2 |
14 |
|
13 |
Alabama |
433 |
17-3 |
13 |
|
14 |
LSU |
400 |
20-1 |
15 |
|
15 |
Duke |
382 |
17-4 |
12 |
|
16 |
Kentucky |
289 |
12-5-1 |
17 |
|
17 |
Arizona |
272 |
15-6 |
16 |
|
18 |
Auburn |
249 |
20-2 |
19 |
|
19 |
Georgia |
232 |
17-5 |
18 |
|
20 |
Baylor |
217 |
17-2 |
21 |
|
21 |
Oregon |
206 |
16-4 |
20 |
|
22 |
Arizona State |
84 |
15-3 |
23 |
|
23 |
Wichita State |
77 |
16-3 |
25 |
|
24 |
Northwestern |
74 |
9-7 |
22 |
|
25 |
Missouri |
51 |
15-6 |
24 |
New To Poll: None.
Dropped Out: None.
Receiving Votes: Maryland (36), Louisiana (13), Texas A&M (12), Cal State Fullerton (8), Utah (8), Mississippi State (2), Nebraska (2), San Diego State (2), Charlotte (1), UCF (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 5.
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 6,500 members.
