LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Oklahoma reclaimed its unanimous hold on No. 1 and three programs entered the rankings in this week’s 2023 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. Winners of 19 straight, the Sooners posted seven victories last week, including three against top-25 opponents. No. 24 Northwestern makes its return, while No. 23 Utah and No. 25 Louisiana make their first appearances of 2023.
Playing at the friendly confines of Marita Hynes Field, the Sooners (27-1) opened the week with an 8-0 win over South Dakota State and a one-run triumph against No. 6 Florida State. Over the weekend, OU captured more five wins at Hall of Fame Stadium, two over then-No. 19 Auburn (14-0 & 7-1) and two against Weber State (9-1 & 16-0), along with a 2-1 defeat of newly-ranked Northwestern.
Oklahoma State and UCLA held on to the No. 2 and 3 spots, while Tennessee overtook Clemson for No. 4. The Cowgirls (25-2) posted a 5-0 mark with a road win at Central Arkansas and four home victories over then-No. 22 Arizona State, RV UCF (twice) and Minnesota. The Bruins (27-3) topped new-No. 9 Washington in a home Pac-12 series, bouncing back from a game-one defeat with a 4-0 and 10-2 victories.
Following a mid-week win over Austin Peay, the Lady Vols (24-1) went to Baton Rouge, posted two more shutouts and swept then-No. 12 LSU in Southeastern Conference (SEC) play, extending their win streak to 19. The fifth-ranked Clemson Tigers (29-1), which suffered its only loss to Tennessee (1-0), won four times, including three close victories in Atlantic Coast Conference action against Virginia (4-1, 1-0, 2-0).
Florida State, Stanford and Florida remained at No. 6 through eight, while Washington and Texas climbed to No. 9 and 10 after then-No. 9 Arkansas fell out of the top 10. The Seminoles (24-6) rebounded from its defeat at Oklahoma with a three-game ACC sweep of Syracuse.
Despite having their shutout (8) and win streaks (21) snapped, the seventh-ranked Cardinal (24-3) came away with a Pac-12 road series win, following three one-run affairs at then-No. 20 Oregon (3-1, 1-2. 3-2). The eighth-ranked Gators (22-5) went 3-1 at home, including an SEC series win against RV Missouri.
The Huskies (22-6) and Longhorns (26-5-1) posted 2-2 and 5-1 marks last week.
No. 12 Arkansas fell out of the top-10 for the first time this season after a 1-2 week, which saw the Razorbacks (21-8) snap a four-game slide with a 5-3 win in game two at No. 16 Alabama.
Utah enters the rankings at No. 23 following a 2-1 Pac-12 series at then-No. 17 Arizona. The Utes (21-5) are 10-1 in March and have won 12 of their last 13 contests. Northwestern (13-8), which posted two wins over Auburn and went 3-1 last week, returns at No. 24, while Louisiana (21-9) swept Southern Miss in Sun Belt Conference action.
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 19, 2023.
2023 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
March 21 (Week 6)
|
Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Points |
2023 Record |
Last Week’s Ranking |
|
1 |
Oklahoma (32) |
800 |
27-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Oklahoma State |
761 |
25-2 |
2 |
|
3 |
UCLA |
715 |
27-3 |
3 |
|
4 |
Tennessee |
704 |
24-1 |
5 |
|
5 |
Clemson |
693 |
29-1 |
4 |
|
6 |
Florida State |
624 |
24-6 |
6 |
|
7 |
Stanford |
602 |
24-3 |
7 |
|
8 |
Florida |
543 |
22-5 |
8 |
|
9 |
Washington |
530 |
22-6 |
10 |
|
10 |
Texas |
477 |
26-5-1 |
11 |
|
11 |
Virginia Tech |
456 |
22-5 |
13 |
|
12 |
Arkansas |
434 |
21-8 |
9 |
|
13 |
Kentucky |
427 |
19-5-1 |
14 |
|
14 |
Duke |
389 |
24-5 |
15 |
|
15 |
LSU |
369 |
23-5 |
12 |
|
16 |
Alabama |
353 |
22-7 |
16 |
|
17 |
Georgia |
322 |
24-6 |
18 |
|
18 |
Arizona |
243 |
20-9 |
17 |
|
19 |
Oregon |
207 |
19-8 |
20 |
|
20 |
Baylor |
161 |
22-5 |
21 |
|
21 |
Auburn |
127 |
22-9 |
19 |
|
22 |
Wichita State |
121 |
23-6 |
23 |
|
23 |
Utah |
78 |
21-5 |
RV |
|
24 |
Northwestern |
75 |
13-8 |
RV |
|
25 |
Louisiana |
43 |
21-9 |
RV |
New To Poll: No. 23 Utah, No. 24 Northwestern, No. 25 Louisiana
Dropped Out: No. 22 Arizona State, No. 24 Texas A&M, No. 25 Maryland
Receiving Votes: Maryland (42), Arizona State (40), Texas A&M (28), Missouri (18), Mississippi State (8), California (4), UCF (3), Boston University (2), Southern Illinois (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 19.
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