Defending WCWS champs Oklahoma unanimous No. 1 in USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Oklahoma, the 2016 national champions, is the unanimous No. 1 selection in the 2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Preseason Coaches Poll, announced the Association on Tuesday morning.

The Sooners (57-8), who collected their program’s third national title, received all 32 first-place votes and 800 points to garner the first unanimous preseason pick since Arizona State in 2012. Under the guidance of head coach Patty Gasso, OU defeated preseason No. 2 Auburn in a thrilling three-game championship series. They open the season on Feb. 9 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico against preseason No. 2 Auburn, a rematch of the 2016 WCWS Championship series, and BYU.

Auburn (58-12) earned 745 points after a runner-up finish at the Women’s College World Series. The Tigers start a run of four Southeastern Conference programs in the top 7 and nine in the top 20.

WCWS semifinalist Florida State (56-7) grabbed the No. 3 spot with 683 points, while back-to-back semifinalist LSU (52-18) received 671 points, matching SEC foe and league preseason favorite Florida (56-7) at No. 4.

WCWS participants Michigan (52-7 /655), Alabama (51-14 / 633) and UCLA (40-16-1 / 534) rank 6th, 7th and 8th, while the final WCWS participant, Georgia (46-20 / 435) was voted 12th.

Joining Pac-12 rivals UCLA in the top 10 are Oregon (48-10 / 484) and Arizona (466 / 40-21) at No. 9 and 10, respectively.

As previously mentioned, the SEC led the way with nine selections, all in the top-20. Along with three top-10 programs, the Pac-12 follows with five representatives. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 and Big Ten each boast two teams in the top-25, while the American Athletic Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Conference USA, Mountain West and Sun Belt garnered one nod apiece.

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Final 2016 records are shown, first-place votes are in parentheses.

2017 USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Coaches Poll

Preseason | Jan. 31, 2017

1 Oklahoma (32) 800 57-8 1 2 Auburn 745 58-12 2 3 Florida State 683 55-10 4 t4 Florida 671 56-7 8 t4 LSU 671 52-18 3 6 Michigan 655 52-7 5 7 Alabama 633 51-14 6 8 UCLA 534 40-16-1 9 9 Oregon 484 48-10 10 10 Arizona 466 40-21 14 11 Louisiana 444 46-9 12 12 Georgia 435 46-20 7 13 Washington 430 39-15 13 14 James Madison 418 50-6 11 15 Tennessee 331 43-16 17 16 Minnesota 295 43-14 20 17 Missouri 271 42-16 15 18 Utah 266 36-21 16 19 Texas A&M 258 39-20 19 20 Kentucky 250 46-14 18 21 Baylor 171 45-14 21 22 Notre Dame 121 43-13 23 23 Florida Atlantic 87 51-9 24 24 Fresno State 65 42-12-1 22 25 USF 47 45-16 25

 

Dropped Out: None       

Receiving Votes: Oregon State (23), Oklahoma State (22), Texas (17), South Carolina (13), Ole Miss (12), Nebraska (12), UCF (10), Tulsa (7), California (6), Cal State Fullerton (5), Arizona State (3), Northwestern (3), North Carolina (2), Ohio State (2), BYU (1), USC Upstate (1).

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference.