The Oklahoma Sooners ended 2016 on top and that is where they will start the 2017 season. The Sooners were ranked #1 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and it was unanimous as they received all 32 first-place votes.
The top five is rounded out with Auburn at two, Florida State at three, and a tie for fourth between Florida and LSU. The entire top 25 is listed below.
| Rank | School (1st place votes) | Points | 2016 Record | 2016 Final Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma (32) | 800 | 57-8 | 1 |
| 2 | Auburn | 745 | 58-12 | 2 |
| 3 | Florida State | 683 | 55-10 | 4 |
| T-4 | Florida | 671 | 56-7 | 8 |
| T-4 | 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-Lafayette | 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 | South Florida | 47 | 45-16 | 25 |
16 other schools received votes including Oregon State (23), Oklahoma State (22), Texas (17), South Carolina (13), Ole Miss (12), Nebraska (12), and Central Florida (10).
The unanimous number one ranking is a first for Oklahoma and just the fourth time in history a school was ranked as the unanimous #1 in the 23 year history of the NFCA Preseason Poll.
The SEC had nine teams ranked in the top 25 to lead all conferences while the Pac-12 had five schools ranked in the top 25. Neither of those are a surprise given the recent dominance by the SEC and the historical power of the West Coast teams.
Meanwhile, in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25, Oklahoma was also the unanimous number one team. They were followed by Auburn in second, Florida in third, Florida State in fourth, and LSU fifth. The entire top 25 ESPN.com/USA Softball is below.
| Rank | School (1st place votes) | 2016 Record | 2016 Final Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma (20) | 57-8 | 1 |
| 2 | Auburn | 58-12 | 2 |
| 3 | Florida | 56-7 | 8 |
| 4 | Florida State | 55-10 | 3 |
| 5 | LSU | 52-18 | 4 |
| 6 | Michigan | 52-7 | 5 |
| 7 | Alabama | 51-14 | 7 |
| 8 | UCLA | 40-16-1 | 9 |
| 9 | Oregon | 48-10 | 11 |
| 10 | Georgia | 46-20 | 6 |
| 11 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 46-9 | 14 |
| 12 | Arizona | 40-21 | 15 |
| 13 | Washington | 39-15 | 13 |
| 14 | Minnesota | 43-14 | 19 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 43-16 | 18 |
| 16 | James Madison | 50-6 | 10 |
| 17 | Utah | 36-21 | 16 |
| 18 | Texas A&M | 39-20 | 20 |
| 19 | Missouri | 42-16 | 12 |
| 20 | Kentucky | 46-14 | 17 |
| 21 | Baylor | 45-14 | 21 |
| 22 | Notre Dame | 43-13 | 25 |
| 23 | Florida Atlantic | 51-9 | 23 |
| T-24 | California | 33-24-1 | NR |
| T-24 | South Florida | 45-16 | NR |
In this poll, Ole Miss (24), Texas (20), Oklahoma State (17), Nebraska (14), Florida International (12), Arizona State (11), Fresno State (10), and Ohio State (10) were among the teams who also received votes.
The 2017 college softball season will begin on Thursday, February 9. The 2016 Women’s College Series Championship Series finalists will be in action as both Auburn and Oklahoma face off in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Edit: This article was updated on 2/1/17 to include the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll that was released on January 31, 2017.