The first weekend of NCAA DI softball saw some eye-opening surprises starting with Alabama, ranked #1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 preseason poll, going 1-3.
The Crimson Tide wasn’t the only Top 25 team to suffer more than one loss since the season opened last Thursday—so too did Minnesota (3-2), Oklahoma State (2-2), Northwestern (2-3) and North Carolina (3-2).
Here’s the latest from the two polls Extra Inning Softball tracks for DI college softball (USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball)…
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Washington Remains No. 1 After Opening Weekend in 2020 USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll
Following the first weekend of the 2020 season, preseason favorite Washington remains atop the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Huskies (5-0) captured 25 first-place votes and 791 points, while the rest of the poll saw some movement.
Several programs made significant jumps up the poll, including Florida State, LSU and Kentucky with the latter two joining the top 10 and the Seminoles moving up the fifth. Additionally, Michigan (5-0), highlighted by a win over then-No. 7 Florida, moved up six spots to 11, while Missouri (19th / 5-0), Oregon (t-21st / 5-0) and North Carolina (25th / 3-2) entered the top 25.
On the flip side, Minnesota (3-2) and Louisiana (3-1) dropped out of the top ten and No. 2 Alabama (1-3) plummeted to No. 9. Ole Miss (0-5), Auburn (3-2) and Wisconsin (4-1) fell out of the top-25.
Washington posted a perfect mark in Atlanta, Ga., sweeping all five games at the Buzz Classic hosted by Georgia Tech. The Huskies knocked off the hosts twice, while also defeating Ohio, UAB and Furman.
The fifth-ranked Seminoles had a big weekend, earning two wins at home over Alabama. They erased a 7-1 deficit, which included a five-run seventh, and topped the Crimson Tide, 8-7 in eight innings. FSU came back the next day and run-ruled Alabama, 8-0. The Seminoles also upended Detroit Mercy twice and North Carolina.
https://twitter.com/FSU_Softball/status/1226574660197920770
Along with its defeats to FSU, Alabama also split against North Carolina, winning its opener 5-2 before falling to the Tar Heels, 9-8, in a game that saw UNC score five in the bottom of the seventh to earn the comeback win.
In a pair of tightly-contest contests, LSU edged then-No. 13 Oklahoma State, 1-0 and 3-2 at home. The Tigers (5-0) also earned triumphs over Central Arkansas, and two versus Florida A&M.
Undefeated Oklahoma, UCLA, Arizona and Florida State fill out the top five. No. 6 Texas and No. 7 LSU are also undefeated, while No. 8 Florida suffered a loss to then-No. 17 Michigan and finished 4-1.
The Sooners (4-0) knocked off Nevada, Long Beach State, George Washington and BYU at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Mexico. The Bruins (6-0) stayed at home, hosting their annual Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament. UCLA posted four shutouts and outscored its opposition, 60-5.
Arizona stayed in-state, posing a perfect mark at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe. The Wildcats (5-0) run-ruled No. 12 Tennessee, Kansas and Western Michigan and edged Portland State and Seattle.
The Longhorns exploded for 78 runs and surrendered just eight in their six home wins, hosting the Texas Classic. Texas scored at least 10 runs five times including 17-0 and 18-2 victories over Maryland and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, respectively.
No. 8 Florida picked up wins against Illinois State, RV Fresno State, Georgia State and host RV USF at the USF-Rawlings Invitational. No. 10 Kentucky opened up at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic presented by Rawlings. The Wildcats (4-0) defeated then-No. 8 Minnesota (7-0), Liberty (6-2), Texas State (2-1) and North Carolina State (6-2) in eight innings. The latter win was highlighted by Autumn Hume’s walk-off grand slam. UK also faced off against the U.S. National Team in an exhibition contest.
The 2020 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Records reflect games played through Feb. 9 with first-place votes in parentheses.
2020 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – February 11 (Week 1)
| Rank | School | Totals | 2020 Record | Previous |
| 1 | Washington (25) | 791 | 5-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma (2) | 746 | 4-0 | 3 |
| 3 | UCLA (4) | 734 | 6-0 | 4 |
| 4 | Arizona | 708 | 5-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Florida State (1) | 661 | 5-0 | 9 |
| 6 | Texas | 660 | 6-0 | 6 |
| 7 | LSU | 580 | 5-0 | 11 |
| 8 | Florida | 518 | 4-1 | 7 |
| 9 | Alabama | 497 | 1-3 | 2 |
| 10 | Kentucky | 470 | 4-0 | 15 |
| 11 | Michigan | 450 | 5-0 | 17 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 440 | 2-1 | 12 |
| 13 | Louisiana | 387 | 3-1 | 10 |
| 14 | Minnesota | 380 | 3-2 | 8 |
| 15 | Georgia | 354 | 5-0 | 16 |
| 16 | Oklahoma State | 323 | 2-2 | 13 |
| 17 | Texas Tech | 282 | 5-0 | 18 |
| 18 | South Carolina | 259 | 4-0 | 19 |
| 19 | Missouri | 243 | 5-0 | RV |
| 20 | James Madison | 177 | 0-0 | 20 |
| 21 | Northwestern | 138 | 2-3 | 14 |
| 21 | Oregon | 138 | 5-0 | RV |
| 23 | Arizona State | 134 | 4-1 | 22 |
| 24 | Arkansas | 71 | 4-1 | 24 |
| 25 | North Carolina | 64 | 3-2 | RV |
New to Poll: No. 19 Missouri, No. 21 Oregon, No. 25 North Carolina
Dropped Out: No. 21 Ole Miss, No. 23 Auburn, No. 25 Wisconsin
Receiving Votes: Wisconsin (46), Virginia Tech (35), Auburn (23), Mississippi State (18), Illinois (17), Notre Dame (13), Cal State Fullerton (11), Ohio State (9), Boise State (8), Stanford (5), Fresno State (4), Baylor (3), Tulsa (2), BYU (1).
The 2020 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 Feb. 9.
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ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll – Week 1
No. 1 Washington (5-0) rises to the top of the Week 1Â ESPN.com/USASoftball Collegiate Top 25 Poll after a sweep of their opponents at the Buzz Classic in Atlanta, Ga. Washington scored in double digits in three of their five games, posting victories over Furman, Georgia Tech (twice), Ohio and UAB.
Host of the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, No. 2 UCLA (6-0) moves up to two spots. Keeping position at No. 3 and completing an undefeated weekend at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is Oklahoma (4-0) and at No. 4 is Arizona (5-0) who gathered five wins at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.
https://twitter.com/UCLASoftball/status/1226635533087956992
No. 5 Florida State (5-0) jumps into the Top 5 from No. 8 with two wins over preseason No. 1 Alabama which included run-rule and walk-off victories against the Crimson Tide. The Seminoles also beat North Carolina and run-ruled Detroit Mercy twice at the JoAnne Graf Classic, the last victory over the Titans gave FSU Head Coach Lonni Alameda career win No. 700.
Preseason No. 1 Alabama drops to No. 9 after the two losses to then-No. 8 Florida State and a loss to North Carolina.
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
2020 Season – Week 1 – February 11, 2020
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous Ranking |
| 1. | Washington (10) | 5-0 | 475 | 2 |
| 2. | UCLA (7) | 6-0 | 463 | 4 |
| 3. | Oklahoma (2) | 4-0 | 454 | 3 |
| 4. | Arizona | 5-0 | 437 | 5 |
| 5. | Florida State (1) | 5-0 | 432 | 8 |
| 6. | Texas | 6-0 | 402 | 6 |
| 7. | LSU | 5-0 | 353 | T11 |
| 8. | Michigan | 5-0 | 329 | 14 |
| 9. | Alabama | 1-3 | 311 | 1 |
| 10. | Kentucky | 4-0 | 293 | 16 |
| 11. | Florida | 4-1 | 268 | 9 |
| 12. | Tennessee | 2-1 | 257 | T11 |
| 13. | Minnesota | 3-2 | 255 | 7 |
| 14. | Louisiana | 3-1 | 252 | 10 |
| 15. | Georgia | 5-0 | 215 | 17 |
| 16. | Oklahoma State | 2-2 | 198 | 13 |
| 17. | South Carolina | 4-0 | 152 | 21 |
| 18. | Missouri | 5-0 | 135 | RV |
| 19. | Texas Tech | 5-0 | 132 | 19 |
| 20. | James Madison | 0-0 | 111 | 18 |
| 21. | Oregon | 5-0 | 103 | 24 |
| 22. | Arizona State | 4-1 | 91 | 22 |
| 23. | Northwestern | 2-3 | 83 | 15 |
| 24. | Arkansas | 4-1 | 77 | 20 |
| 25. | North Carolina | 3-2 | 58 | RV |
Parenthesis denotes first place votes.
Dropped Out: Ole Miss, Wisconsin
New to Poll: Missouri, North Carolina
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin (51), Mississippi State (29), Illinois (18), Baylor (16), Fresno State (9), Ohio State (9), Virginia Tech (9), Auburn (8), Ole Miss (4), Stanford (4), Houston (3), Notre Dame (2), Boise State (1), Central Florida (1), Oregon State (1)
