College Rankings: Week 12… Oklahoma & UCLA Atop the Two Major Polls Once Again

Can you believe we’re into Week 12 of the DI college season? Postseason sites are getting set up and we’re moving ever closer to the Women’s College World Series as conference play is quickly wrapping up!

Here are the latest college rankings per the two big polls—USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball—which were released earlier today…

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Oklahoma enters 10th straight week at No. 1 in USA Today DI Top 25 Coaches Poll

Oklahoma is the top-ranked team for the tenth straight week, eighth unanimously, in the 2021 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Sooners swept a Big 12 doubleheader from Baylor in Waco, Texas to improve to 39-1 on the season.

UCLA was selected unanimously No. 2 for the second straight week after a four-game Pac-12 sweep of Utah on the road, which included a pair of shutouts. Alabama hurdled Florida for the No. 3 ranking, while fifth-ranked and idle Washington (35-9) and sixth-ranked Florida State remained in their spots.

The Crimson Tide (39-7) posted three road wins in Southeastern Conference (SEC) play against then-No. 21 Georgia, while the Gators (37-8) took two-of-three on the road from No. 15 Missouri (35-13) in another pivotal SEC series. The Seminoles (36-8-1) captured three-of-four in an Atlantic Coast Conference series versus North Carolina State.

In the biggest shakeup, Texas and Oregon fell out of the top 10, making room for No. 9 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Arizona State.

Additionally, Arizona (33-8) and Arkansas (39-7) each leapt up two spots as well to No. 7 and No. 8. The Cowgirls (39-6) bounced back from a road loss at new-No. 25 Wichita State to sweep the now 11^th-ranked Longhorns (35-9) in Austin and the Sun Devils (31-12) topped the now 12^th-ranked Ducks (31-13) three times in a four-game Pac-12 set.

Coming off their win at Oklahoma State and three road victories at Tulsa, the Shockers (37-10-1) returned to the top 25.

Heading into this week’s slate of contests, the top-ranked Sooners have a pair of top-25 matchups. Following a non-conference tilt tonight, May 4, against Wichita State, top-ranked OU heads over to Stillwater for Bedlam this weekend with the Big 12 regular season on the line against Oklahoma State. The Sooners (14-0) hold a half-game lead over the Cowgirls (14-1).

The 2021 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 May 2. Programs not competing in 2021 will not be eligible for ranking consideration.

2021 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – May 4 (Week 12)

 New to Poll: No. 25 Wichita State

Dropped Out: No. 25 UCF

Receiving Votes: Liberty (32), Ole Miss (27), Notre Dame (13), Fresno State (6), UCF (5), Auburn (4), Miami University (4), Boston University (3), Cal State Fullerton (1), Texas State (1), USF (1).

The 2021 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 May 2.

*Programs not competing in 2021 will not be eligible for ranking consideration.

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ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25

2021 Season – Week 12 – May 5, 2021

No. 1 Oklahoma (39-1, 14-0 Big 12) remains atop the ESPN.com/USASoftball Collegiate Top 25 Poll with 19-of-20 first-place votes after recording two wins over Baylor. Claiming the weekend series over Utah, No. 2 UCLA (32-3, 13-2 Pac-12) tallied 19 runs while limiting the Utes to just three runs in the four-game series.

No. 3 Alabama (39-7, 15-6 SEC) moves up one spot after a weekend-sweep against then-No. 22 Georgia (29-17, 7-14 SEC), outscoring the Bulldogs 23-7 in three games. No. 4 Florida (37-8, 16-5 SEC) clinched the weekend series over then-No. 15 Missouri (35-13, 13-8 SEC) with a bounce-back 3-2 win in Game 3 courtesy of a three-run seventh inning to seal the victory. No. 5 Washington (35-9, 13-4 Pac-12) holds steady in the Top 5 with no games played in Week 12.

1.	Oklahoma (19) Big 12 Record: 39-1	Previous Rank: 1
		Points: 499
2.	UCLA (1) Pac-12 Record: 32-3	Previous Rank: 2
		Points: 479
3.	Alabama SEC Record: 39-7	Previous Rank: 4
		Points: 447
4.	Florida SEC Record: 37-8	Previous Rank: 3
		Points: 443
5.	Washington Pac-12 Record: 35-9	Previous Rank: 5
		Points: 399
6.	Arkansas SEC Record: 39-7	Previous Rank: 7
		Points: 390
7.	Oklahoma State Big 12 Record: 36-5	Previous Rank: 9
		Points: 358
8.	Arizona State Pac-12 Record: 31-12	Previous Rank: 8
		Points: 350
9.	Florida State ACC Record: 36-5	Previous Rank: 6
		Points: 345
10.	Arizona Pac-12 Record: 33-8	Previous Rank: 11
		Points: 296
11.	Clemson ACC Record: 37-4	Previous Rank: 13
		Points: 277
12.	Oregon Pac-12 Record: 31-13	Previous Rank: 10
		Points: 260
13.	LSU SEC Record: 28-16	Previous Rank: 14
		Points: 244
14.	Texas Big 12 Record: 35-9	Previous Rank: 12
		Points: 236
15.	Tennessee SEC Record: 38-8	Previous Rank: 16
		Points: 212
16.	Missouri SEC Record: 35-13	Previous Rank: 15
		Points: 206
17.	Kentucky SEC Record: 35-12	Previous Rank: 17
		Points: 188
18.	Louisiana Sun Belt Record: 38-9	Previous Rank: 18
		Points: 167
19.	Michigan Big Ten Record: 28-5	Previous Rank: 20
		Points: 139
20.	Virginia Tech ACC Record: 32-12	Previous Rank: 19
		Points: 112
21.	Duke ACC Record: 34-10	Previous Rank: 21
		Points: 97
22.	James Madison CAA Record: 30-1	Previous Rank: 23
		Points: 74
23.	Minnesota Big Ten Record: 25-7	Previous Rank: T24
		Points: 60
24.	Georgia SEC Record: 29-17	Previous Rank: 22
		Points: 56
25.	Ole Miss SEC Record: 34-16	Previous Rank: RV
		Points: 46

Parenthesis denotes first place votes.

Dropped Out: UCF
New to Poll: Ole Miss

Others receiving votes: Fresno State (25), Notre Dame (24), Wichita State (19), Boston (18), Liberty (17), Northwestern (6), Illinois (5), UCF (4), USF (1).