LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With a lot of movement in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll, undefeated Florida (11-0) continued its hold on the No. 1 ranking, announced on Tuesday by the Association.
The Gators received 26 of 29 possible first place votes and 722 points. Following a mid-week rout of Jacksonville (16-1), Florida hosted North Carolina State and Iowa with four of the five victories coming via shutout.
POLL
One of those teams making a significant move was UCF, which went from receiving votes to being tied at No. 19 with Arizona State. Under the direction of Renee’ Luers-Gillispie, the Knights’ (8-0) strong week started with a 4-1 road win at South Carolina (RV) followed by wins over No. 18 Missouri (1-0), then No. 13 Minnesota (4-0) and Arkansas (6-1) at the NTC Spring Games in Clermont, Fla.
No. 2 through No. 4 remained the same. Oregon (6-0 / 699 points) was idle, while No. 3 Alabama (11-1 / 619) and No. 4 Oklahoma (9-1 / 593) suffered their first defeats of the season, but still had strong showings away from home. The Crimson Tide topped in-state foe Samford, 7-1, before heading out to Stanford (RV) where they finished 4-1, suffering their first loss of the season to the host Cardinal (1-4). They run-ruled Pacific twice and Stanford once, while also earning a 1-0 shutout against Cal Poly.
The Sooners took part in then-No. 21 Arizona State’s Littlewood Classic, winning their first four contests, including triumphs over then-No. 15 Washington (8-7) and the Sun Devils (5-1) before falling in the finale to the hosts, 8-4.
After the top four, only three squads out of the final 21 remained in the same spot as last week. Michigan made the biggest jump amongst previous ranked programs, moving from eighth to fifth after a 5-0 weekend at the Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. It included two one-run road wins (6-5 & 2-1) over then-No. 6 Florida State and dominant victories over Western Kentucky (8-0) and Georgia Tech (10-0 & 10-2).
Kentucky’s fall out of the top 10 made way for one newcomer, Tennessee, to the list. The Lady Vols (9-0) posted a 5-0 mark with an impressive showing at the USF President Day Weekend Tournament. They outscored their opponents, 48-2, and won four of five contests by eight-plus runs to slide into 10th.
Following undefeated weekends, Louisiana Lafayette (9-0) inched up a spot to No. 6, while No. 7 Baylor (9-0) and No. 8 Georgia (10-0) moved up two spots. Rounding out the top 10 is Florida State (7-3), which fell to No. 9, and Tennessee at No. 10.
Along with UCF, California (9-0) at No. 21, and Texas (7-3) at No. 25 are this week’s newcomers to the poll. The Golden Bears made a significant move (eight spots), going from fourth in receiving votes to the 21st spot after a 5-0 weekend at the Fresno State Kick Off. Nebraska (5-6), Tulsa (7-3) and Cal State Fullerton (7-3) dropped out.
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Current 2015 records are shown and first-place votes are in parentheses.
USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Poll – Feb. 17, 2015
Rank
Team
2015 Record
Totals
Prev. Rank
1
Florida (26)
11-0
722
1
2
Oregon (3)
6-0
699
2
3
Alabama
11-1
619
3
4
Oklahoma
9-1
593
4
5
Michigan
8-1
580
8
6
Louisiana Lafayette
9-0
553
7
7
Baylor
9-0
503
9
8
Georgia
10-0
480
10
9
Florida State
7-3
474
6
10
Tennessee
9-0
465
11
11
Kentucky
6-2
458
5
12
UCLA
9-2
403
12
13
Arizona
9-0
397
14
14
LSU
10-0
357
16
15
Minnesota
8-1
328
13
16
Auburn
12-0
320
17
17
Washington
8-2
304
15
18
Missouri
4-1
228
18
t19
Arizona State
8-4
190
21
t19
UCF
8-0
190
RV
21
California
9-0
131
RV
22
South Alabama
7-2
115
24
23
Texas A&M
7-3
102
23
24
Notre Dame
5-4
51
20
25
Texas
7-3
23
RV
Dropped out: No. 19 Nebraska (4-6), No. 22 Tulsa (7-3), No. 25 Cal State Fullerton (7-3).
Others Receiving Votes: South Carolina (22), Kansas (21), Virginia Tech (20), Stanford (16), Tulsa (15), Mississippi State (15), Cal State Fullerton (12), Nebraska (11), James Madison (3), Hofstra (2), Florida Atlantic (2), Western Kentucky (1).