College Rankings: Week 14… Oklahoma #1 Seed As NCAA DI Playoffs Start on Friday

It’s show time! The NCAA DI playoffs kick off on Friday and what a ride it will be!

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

*****

Oklahoma heads into postseason No. 1 in USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Coaches Poll

Oklahoma won its seventh Big 12 Tournament title and enters the postseason as the No. 1 team in the final 2021 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll of the regular season. The final NFCA poll will be released on Tuesday, June 15, following the conclusion of the Women’s College World Series.

Ranked first for the 12^th straight week, the Sooners (45-2) were the unanimous top choice for the ninth time this season. OU, which earned the top seed for the 2021 NCAA Division I Softball, Championship cruised to three more wins and are tied with No. 3 Alabama for the most victories in NCAA Division I at 45. It marked the fourth straight season the Sooners have won the Big 12’s regular-season and tournament crowns.

The third-ranked Crimson Tide (45-7) hosted and won the SEC Tournament Championship, knocking off then-No. 17 Kentucky, then-No. 19 Tennessee and No. 4 Florida in route to their sixth tournament title.

Oklahoma and Alabama, the NCAA’s third overall seed, will host respective regionals this weekend. The SEC Tournament runner-up Gators (42-9) earned the NCAA’s fourth overall seed. In all, every program in the Top 25, and the 10 teams receiving votes, earned a bid into this year’s NCAA Championship.

No. 2 UCLA wrapped ups its regular season with a 3-1 Pac-12 series victory over then-No. 7 Arizona. With a 6-2 game-two victory over the Wildcats, the Bruins (41-4) captured their 11^th league title and will be the NCAA’s No. 2 overall seed.

Arkansas finished at No. 5 and Washington No. 6, while Oklahoma State moved into the seventh spot. The Razorbacks (40-9), Huskies (41-11) and the Big 12 runner-up Cowgirls (42-9) earned the sixth, 16^th and fifth overall seeds, respectively.

No. 8 Florida State, which fell in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals to eventual champion Duke, and No. 9 Arizona (36-13) each dropped a position. No. 10 Oregon (37-15), following a four-game sweep of California, made its return to the top 10.

The previously-mentioned Blue Devils (42-10) knocked off host Louisville, the then-seventh ranked Seminoles (39-10-1) and No. 13 Clemson (42-6) for their first ACC tournament championship. Duke jumped up four spots to No. 17 this week and will be on the road in Athens, Ga. as the NCAA’s No. 13 overall seed.

NCAA regionals will be held May 20-23 on 16 campus sites. At each campus site, a four-team, double-elimination tournament will be conducted, and the 16 winning teams advance to the super regionals.

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

2021 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – May 18 (Week 14)

New to Poll: None

Dropped Out: None

Receiving Votes: Georgia (14), Notre Dame (12), Miami University (8), Ole Miss (7), Mississippi State (6), Fresno State (5), Boston University (5), USF (3), UCF (2), Stanford (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 16.

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

*****

ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25

2021 Season – Week 14 – May 18, 2021

Heading into the 2021 postseason as the No. 1 team in the Week 14 ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is Oklahoma (45-2) who earned 17-of-20 first-place votes after posting a 3-0 weekend to claim the Big 12 Championship title. The UCLA Bruins (41-4) completed a weekend sweep over then-No. 11 Arizona and remain at No. 2 while Alabama (45-7) holds steady in the No. 3 spot after defeating No. 16 Kentucky, then-No. 17 Tennessee and No. 4 Florida to be crowned Champions of the SEC Championship tournament.

Remaining at No. 4 is Florida (42-9) after going 2-1 at the SEC tournament, and rising two spots to close out the Top 5 is Oklahoma State (42-9), who tallied two wins over No. 13 Texas and Iowa State before falling to No. 1 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game.

1.	Oklahoma (17) Big 12 Record: 45-2	Previous Rank: 1
		Points: 497
2.	UCLA (2) Pac-12 Record: 41-4	Previous Rank: 2
		Points: 478
3.	Alabama (1) SEC Record: 45-7	Previous Rank: 3
		Points: 462
4.	Florida SEC Record: 42-9	Previous Rank: 4
		Points: 437
5.	Oklahoma State Big 12 Record: 42-9	Previous Rank: 7
		Points: 390
T6.	Arkansas SEC Record: 40-9	Previous Rank: 6
		Points: 380
T6.	Washington Pac-12 Record: 41-11	Previous Rank: 5
		Points: 380
8.	Arizona State Pac-12 Record: 32-14	Previous Rank: 9
		Points: 318
9.	Florida State ACC Record: 39-10-1	Previous Rank: 8
		Points: 295
10.	Clemson ACC Record: 42-6	Previous Rank: 10
		Points: 289
11.	Oregon Pac-12 Record: 37-15	Previous Rank: 12
		Points: 286
12.	Arizona Pac-12 Record: 36-13	Previous Rank: 11
		Points: 263
13.	Texas Big 12 Record: 39-11	Previous Rank: 13
		Points: 239
14.	Missouri SEC Record: 38-15	Previous Rank: 15
		Points: 238
15.	LSU SEC Record: 32-19	Previous Rank: 14
		Points: 227
16.	Kentucky SEC Record: 39-13	Previous Rank: 16
		Points: 192
17.	Duke ACC Record: 42-10	Previous Rank: 21
		Points: 188
18.	Louisiana Sun Belt Record: 44-10	Previous Rank: T18
		Points: 186
19.	Tennessee SEC Record: 41-13	Previous Rank: 17
		Points: 185
20.	Michigan Big Ten Record: 36-6	Previous Rank: T18
		Points: 133
21.	James Madison CAA Record: 34-1	Previous Rank: 22
		Points: 96
22.	Virginia Tech ACC Record: 33-13	Previous Rank: 20
		Points: 95
23.	Wichita State AAC Record: 39-11-1	Previous Rank: 23
		Points: 73
24.	Liberty ASUN Record: 42-13	Previous Rank: 25
		Points: 35
25.	Ole Miss SEC Record: 34-20	Previous Rank: 24
		Points: 30

Parenthesis denotes first place votes.

Dropped Out: –
New to Poll: –

Others receiving votes: Boston (26), Fresno State (17), UCF (16), Minnesota (14), Mississippi State (14), Notre Dame (8), Stanford (7), South Florida (3), Northwestern (1), Georgia (1)