The Arizona Wildcats moved closer to becoming number one in both college softball polls after week nine’s action. The Wildcats claimed the top spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and are ranked second in the Coaches Poll.
In the Coaches Poll, Florida State still remains at number one with 21 of the 32 first-place votes. Arizona is second with 7 first-place votes after being fourth last week with three first place votes. Florida stays in third with 3 first-place votes and Oregon is fourth after their first two losses of the season with one first place vote. Texas A&M rounds out the top five.
Minnesota is sixth, up one spot, while Auburn is down two spots to seventh. UCLA is up one spot to eighth despite their series victory over Oregon. Alabama is nine and Oklahoma is tenth.
LSU fell three spots to 11th after losing two of three against Alabama. Washington sits 12th, down two spots, and Baylor remains at 13th. Utah is 14th and James Madison is 15th with those two swapping spots from last week.
Tennessee, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Michigan are 16th, 17th, and 18th, respectively. Georgia is unchanged in 19th while BYU moves up two spots to 20th. Kentucky is 21st, Ole Miss is 22nd, and Arizona State is 23rd. Arkansas and Ohio State are 24th and 25th after those two teams were tied for the final spot last week. Missouri dropped out of the rankings after losing two of three to Arkansas.
The entire Coaches Poll can be seen below.
| Rank | School (1st place votes) | Points | Record | Last Week's Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida State (21) | 785 | 38-1-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Arizona (7) | 755 | 40-1 | 4 |
| 3 | Florida (3) | 749 | 36-2 | 3 |
| 4 | Oregon (1) | 704 | 36-2 | 2 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 662 | 35-3 | 6 |
| 6 | Minnesota | 618 | 35-3 | 7 |
| 7 | Auburn | 612 | 33-6 | 5 |
| 8 | UCLA | 582 | 28-10 | 9 |
| 9 | Alabama | 508 | 35-7 | 12 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 496 | 35-7 | 11 |
| 11 | LSU | 485 | 32-9 | 8 |
| 12 | Washington | 456 | 29-9 | 10 |
| 13 | Baylor | 439 | 35-6 | 13 |
| 14 | Utah | 371 | 26-7 | 15 |
| 15 | James Madison | 348 | 34-6 | 14 |
| 16 | Tennessee | 336 | 35-5 | 17 |
| 17 | Louisiana | 302 | 29-5 | 16 |
| 18 | Michigan | 254 | 28-8-1 | 18 |
| 19 | Georgia | 201 | 27-12 | 19 |
| 20 | BYU | 165 | 27-10 | 22 |
| 21 | Kentucky | 145 | 24-11 | 20 |
| 22 | Ole Miss | 134 | 26-13 | 21 |
| 23 | Arizona State | 72 | 23-12 | 23 |
| 24 | Arkansas | 59 | 24-14 | T-25 |
| 25 | Ohio State | 47 | 23-9 | T-25 |
Arizona made their biggest move to the top of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll with 10 of the 20 first-place votes. The Wildcats moved up two spots as Florida State remained in the same spot at second with 9 first-place votes. Florida is third with 1 first-place vote, up one spot, and Oregon went from first to fourth. Texas A&M stays in fifth.
Minnesota and Auburn are sixth and seventh with those two teams swapping positions from last week. Oklahoma is eighth, UCLA is ninth (up three spots), and Alabama rounds out the top ten.
LSU is down three spots to 11th, Baylor is up two spots to 12th, Washington is down three spots to 13th, Tennessee is up three spots to 14th, and James Madison is down two spots to 15th. Utah sits at 16th and Michigan is 17th. Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia swap positions at 18th and 19th while BYU moves up three spots to 20th.
Ohio State remains at 21st, Kentucky is 22nd, California is 23rd, Arizona State stays at 24th, and Ole Miss rejoins the poll at 25th. Missouri fell out of the poll. The entire ESPN.com/USA Softball poll can be seen below.
| Rank | School (1st place votes) | Points | Record | Last Week's Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona (10) | 489 | 40-1 | 3 |
| 2 | Florida State (9) | 488 | 38-1-1 | 2 |
| 3 | Florida (1) | 456 | 36-2 | 4 |
| 4 | Oregon | 440 | 36-2 | 1 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 424 | 35-3 | 5 |
| 6 | Minnesota | 388 | 35-3 | 7 |
| 7 | Auburn | 374 | 33-6 | 6 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 348 | 35-7 | 9 |
| 9 | UCLA | 324 | 28-10 | 12 |
| 10 | Alabama | 318 | 35-7 | 11 |
| 11 | LSU | 307 | 32-9 | 8 |
| 12 | Baylor | 267 | 35-6 | 14 |
| 13 | Washington | 263 | 29-9 | 10 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 242 | 35-5 | 17 |
| 15 | James Madison | 225 | 34-6 | 13 |
| 16 | Utah | 219 | 26-7 | 15 |
| 17 | Michigan | 183 | 28-8-1 | 16 |
| 18 | Louisiana | 160 | 29-5 | 19 |
| 19 | Georgia | 121 | 27-13 | 18 |
| 20 | BYU | 94 | 27-10 | 23 |
| 21 | Ohio State | 92 | 23-9 | T-21 |
| 22 | Kentucky | 71 | 24-11 | 20 |
| 23 | California | 51 | 22-13 | T-21 |
| 24 | Arizona State | 42 | 23-12 | 24 |
| 25 | Mississippi | 32 | 26-13 | NR |
Previous Polls
Below are the polls from earlier in the season.
Weekly Reviews