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The first action of the 2020 college softball season begins this Thursday, Feb. 6 with teams like UCLA and Oklahoma taking the field for their first official games of the season.
The two major polls we’ll track all season are the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 which will come out weekly from here on (after the games begin).
The polls flip-flop Washington and Alabama in the top spot with Oklahoma #3, UCLA #4, Arizona #5, Texas #6 and #10 Louisiana the same in both while Florida, Florida State and Minnesota are in the #’s 7-9 spots but in different order.
UCLA, the defending National Champions, are without star pitcher/hitter Rachel Garcia who will be playing for Team USA in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games his summer.
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Washington preseason favorites in 2020 USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll
Washington is the preseason favorite as the national semifinalists received seven first-place votes and 755 points to capture the top spot in the 2020 USA Today/NFCA Division I Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll.
In a tightly contested poll that saw five teams receive at least one first-place vote, the Huskies (52-9) edged out fellow national semifinalist and No. 2 Alabama (752) by three points. The Crimson Tide (60-10) tallied the most first-place nods with 11.
It marks the first time Washington has been the preseason No. 1 since 2010 and the highest preseason ranking for Alabama since it was first at the start of the 2013 campaign. Coincidentally, the Huskies and Crimson Tide held the top two spots in the previously-mentioned 2010 poll.
Also earning first-place votes were last year’s runner-up, Oklahoma (57-6) with four, and national champion, UCLA (56-6) with nine, along with Women’s College World Series participant Arizona (48-14) with the final one. The Sooners and Bruins come in at No. 3 and 4 with 729 and 716 points, respectively, while the Wildcats sit a No. 5 with 695 votes.
Texas (46-17) and Florida (49-18) earned the sixth and seventh spots, while Minnesota (46-14), Florida State (55-10) and Louisiana (52-6) round out the top 10.
The Southeastern Conference led the way with ten ranked programs, while three leagues – Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 – boasted four teams apiece. Three of the Pac-12’s teams were in the top five. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Colonial Athletic Association and Sun Belt Conference each saw a single program among the top 25.
The 2020 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Final 2019 records are shown with first-place votes in parentheses. The first regular season poll will be published on Feb. 11.
2020 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – January 28 (Preseason)
| Rank | School | Totals | 2019 Record | 2019 Final Ranking |
| 1 | Washington (7) | 755 | 52-9 | 3 |
| 2 | Alabama (11) | 752 | 60-10 | 4 |
| 3 | Oklahoma (4) | 729 | 57-6 | 2 |
| 4 | UCLA (9) | 716 | 56-6 | 1 |
| 5 | Arizona (1) | 695 | 48-14 | 5 |
| 6 | Texas | 567 | 46-17 | 11 |
| 7 | Florida | 533 | 49-18 | 7 |
| 8 | Minnesota | 523 | 46-14 | 8 |
| 9 | Florida State | 512 | 55-10 | 9 |
| 10 | Louisiana | 506 | 52-6 | 18 |
| 11 | LSU | 499 | 43-19 | 10 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 443 | 43-17 | 12 |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | 433 | 45-17 | 6 |
| 14 | Northwestern | 404 | 47-13 | 14 |
| 15 | Kentucky | 325 | 36-24 | 16 |
| 16 | Georgia | 297 | 42-19 | 17 |
| 17 | Michigan | 265 | 45-13 | 20 |
| 18 | Texas Tech | 229 | 42-16 | 19 |
| 19 | South Carolina | 194 | 38-19 | 21 |
| 20 | James Madison | 174 | 51-10 | 13 |
| 21 | Ole Miss | 149 | 41-20 | 15 |
| 22 | Arizona State | 136 | 35-20 | 24 |
| 23 | Auburn | 127 | 39-21 | 22 |
| 24 | Arkansas | 113 | 38-20 | RV |
| 25 | Wisconsin | 93 | 43-14 | 25 |
Receiving Votes: Virginia Tech (60), Oregon (52), North Carolina (24), Missouri (19), USF (19), Cal State Fullerton (11, Notre Dame (11), Boise State (7), Houston (7), Baylor (5), Stanford (5), Ohio State (4), Fresno State (2), Louisville (2), Tulsa (2), San Jose State (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.
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ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
2020 Season – Preseason – January 28, 2020
| Rank | Team | 2019 Record | Points | 2019 Final Ranking |
| 1. | Alabama (12) | 60-10 | 487 | 4 |
| 2. | Washington (2) | 52-9 | 460 | 3 |
| 3. | Oklahoma (3) | 57-5 | 458 | 2 |
| 4. | UCLA (3) | 55-6 | 445 | 1 |
| 5. | Arizona | 48-14 | 405 | 5 |
| 6. | Texas | 46-17 | 368 | 10 |
| 7. | Minnesota | 46-14 | 363 | 8 |
| 8. | Florida State | 55-10 | 322 | 9 |
| 9. | Florida | 49-18 | 319 | 7 |
| 10. | Louisiana | 52-6 | 316 | 17 |
| T11. | LSU | 43-19 | 290 | 12 |
| T11. | Tennessee | 43-17 | 290 | 11 |
| 13. | Oklahoma State | 45-17 | 242 | 6 |
| 14. | Michigan | 45-13 | 219 | 18 |
| 15. | Northwestern | 47-13 | 211 | 16 |
| 16. | Kentucky | 36-24 | 208 | 15 |
| 17. | Georgia | 42-19 | 181 | 20 |
| 18. | James Madison | 51-10 | 117 | 13 |
| 19. | Texas Tech | 42-16 | 116 | 19 |
| 20. | Arkansas | 38-20 | 103 | RV |
| 21. | South Carolina | 42-14 | 102 | T23 |
| 22. | Arizona State | 35-20 | 68 | RV |
| 23. | Wisconsin | 43-14 | 67 | 22 |
| 24. | Oregon | 22-30 | 62 | – |
| 25. | Ole Miss | 41-20 | 56 | 14 |
Parenthesis denotes first place votes.
Others receiving votes: Auburn (53), Virginia Tech (35), Louisville (25), North Carolina (25), Baylor (19), Houston (15), Missouri (15), Indiana (8), Stanford (8), South Florida (6), Mississippi State (5), Notre Dame (4), Ohio State (3), Boise State (2), Drake (1), San Diego State (1)