There were a lot of eye-opening wins and losses this weekend—a half dozen teams in the Top 25 already have multiple losses!—as perennial powers such as LSU (granted two were to conference foe, Alabama) and Florida State already have a trio of defeats.
UCLA had to come from behind a couple of times—including one game that went down to the Bruins’ final strike before the defending national champion roared back to a big victory.
Is that a sign that some programs are down? Or are they just getting the kinks out and will build up momentum going into conference play? That’s what’s great about sports… the future remains to be written!
After all the action in Week 2, here are the latest college rankings…
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UCLA unanimous, Iowa State joins rankings in USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Poll
UCLA continues at No. 1, while Iowa State joins the poll for the first time in this week’s 2021 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Bruins (5-0) were unanimous, picking up all 32 first-place votes and 800 points. The 25th-ranked Cyclones (9-1) are off to a hot start, earning their first NFCA national ranking.
UCLA swept a pair of doubleheaders from Cal State Fullerton (6-2, 10-4) and Loyola Marymount (11-1, 6-1). The Bruins rallied in both road games against the Titans, before cruising to a pair of home triumphs over LMU.
Iowa State’s 9-1 start, which includes a 9-8 win over then-No. 21 Missouri at the FAU StrikeOut Cancer Tournament. The Cyclones posted a 4-1 mark at the tourney, defeating Ole Miss twice and splitting with the host Owls. This marks the first time ISU has been nationally ranked in the NFCA’s poll.
With Washington dropping its first game of the season to Nevada, the undefeated trio of Oklahoma, Arizona and Alabama all inched up one spot in the top five, while the Huskies dipped to fifth. The second-ranked Sooners (6-0) swept a doubleheader from Houston (12-4, 5-3) on the road.
The No. 3 Wildcats (5-0) opened their 2021 campaign with five home wins, two each against Southern Utah (8-0, 10-1) and New Mexico (5-2, 12-0), and one versus Seattle (10-2).
The Crimson Tide (8-0) moved up to fourth with four triumphs at home, knocking off Liberty (6-3, 8-1) and then-No. 8 LSU (5-2, 13-5) in non-conference action. Despite their first loss of the season, the Huskies (9-1) still enjoyed a 4-1 showing at the Dixie State Classic. UW earned a 4-1 win over BYU before run-ruling the host Trailblazers (9-0), Utah State (10-1) and Utah Valley (17-0).
No. 6 Florida, No. 7 Texas and No. 9 Louisiana held firm in their respective ranking after undefeated weeks. The Gators (8-0) tripped up Georgia Southern three times (8-3, 2-1, 11-0), Charlotte twice (5-2, 4-0) and Jacksonville (1-0).
The Longhorns (2-0) and Ragin’ Cajuns (4-0) each stepped on the field for the first time over the weekend. Texas earned wins against Wichita State (8-0) and North Texas (5-1), while Louisiana opened with four victories over Jacksonville State (8-2), Southeastern Louisiana (9-1) and UAB (1-0, 8-2).
Oregon climbed two spots to No. 8 following a twinbill sweep at Fresno State (10-2, 2-1) and Oklahoma State made its way into the first 10. The 10th-ranked Cowgirls (6-0) enjoyed four wins over Lone Star State foes – North Texas (2-0), Tarleton State (12-4) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11-1, 11-0).
No. 11 LSU (5-3) dropped three spots and out of the top 10 following its two defeats at the hands of Alabama. With the addition of Iowa State this week, then-No. 22 Mississippi State (3-1) fell out of the rankings.
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 Feb. 21. Programs not competing in 2021 will not be eligible for ranking consideration.
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2021 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – February 23 (Week 2)
| Rank | School | Points | Record | Last Week |
| 1 | UCLA (32) | 800 | 5-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 760 | 6-0 | 3 |
| 3 | Arizona | 719 | 5-0 | 4 |
| 4 | Alabama | 700 | 8-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Washington | 665 | 9-1 | 2 |
| 6 | Florida | 657 | 8-0 | 6 |
| 7 | Texas | 590 | 2-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Oregon | 553 | 7-0 | 10 |
| 9 | Louisiana | 543 | 4-0 | 9 |
| 10 | Oklahoma State | 513 | 6-0 | 11 |
| 11 | LSU | 456 | 5-3 | 8 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 455 | 9-0 | 12 |
| 13 | Arizona State | 406 | 6-0 | 15 |
| 14 | Virginia Tech | 399 | 7-2 | 14 |
| 15 | Florida State | 341 | 7-3 | 13 |
| 16 | Duke | 318 | 8-1 | 18 |
| 17 | Michigan | 264 | 0-0 | 17 |
| 18 | South Carolina | 200 | 2-1 | 19 |
| 19 | Georgia | 173 | 5-2 | 16 |
| 20 | Missouri | 169 | 6-2 | 21 |
| 21 | Arkansas | 130 | 3-2 | 20 |
| 22 | UCF | 124 | 6-1 | 24 |
| 23 | Baylor | 87 | 1-1 | 23 |
| 24 | Minnesota | 73 | 0-0 | 25 |
| 25 | Iowa State | 56 | 9-1 | NR |
New to Poll: No. 25 Iowa State
Dropped Out: No. 22 Mississippi State
Receiving Votes: Mississippi State (55), Stanford, (46), Utah (38), Auburn (27), Clemson (25), Oregon State (22), Tennessee (22), Texas Tech (5), James Madison (3), Liberty (2), Northwestern (2), Southern Illinois (2).
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 Feb. 21.
*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 2 – Feb. 23, 2021
No. 1 UCLA (5-0) remains atop the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll with 16-of-20 first-place votes after recording two wins apiece over Cal State Fullerton and Loyola Marymount in Week 2 of play. The Oklahoma Sooners (6-0) claimed two victories on the road at Houston and remain at No. 2, while Alabama (8-0) rises three spots to round out the Top 3 after a 4-0 showing including back-to-back wins over then-No. 9 LSU.
Hosting the Hillenbrand Invitational and getting the season underway was Arizona (5-0), who posted five wins including three via run-rule. Continuing their undefeated run and ranked No. 5 is Florida (8-0), who tallied a lone victory over Jacksonville before a 5-0 showing at their own Bubly Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.
| 1. | 
UCLA (16) |
Preseason Rank: 1 |
| Points: 492 | ||
| 2. | 
Oklahoma (3) |
Preseason Rank: 2 |
| Points: 473 | ||
| 3. | 
Alabama |
Preseason Rank: 6 |
| Points: 436 | ||
| 4. | 
Arizona |
Preseason Rank: 4 |
| Points: 431 | ||
| 5. | 
Florida |
Preseason Rank: 5 |
| Points: 421 | ||
| 6. | 
Washington |
Preseason Rank: 3 |
| Points: 400 | ||
| 7. | 
Texas |
Preseason Rank: 7 |
| Points: 368 | ||
| 8. | 
Oklahoma State (1) |
Preseason Rank: 8 |
| Points: 359 | ||
| 9. | 
Louisiana |
Preseason Rank: 10 |
| Points: 331 | ||
| 10. | 
Oregon |
Preseason Rank: 11 |
| Points: 327 | ||
| 11. | 
Arizona State |
Preseason Rank: 13 |
| Points: 267 | ||
| 12. | 
Kentucky |
Preseason Rank: 12 |
| Points: 266 | ||
| 13. | 
LSU |
Preseason Rank: 9 |
| Points: 256 | ||
| 14. | 
Virginia Tech |
Preseason Rank: 15 |
| Points: 232 | ||
| 15. | 
Florida State |
Preseason Rank: 14 |
| Points: 192 | ||
| 16. | 
Duke |
Preseason Rank: 19 |
| Points: 185 | ||
| 17. | 
Michigan |
Preseason Rank: 17 |
| Points: 158 | ||
| 18. | 
South Carolina |
Preseason Rank: 20 |
| Points: 123 | ||
| 19. | 
Missouri |
Preseason Rank: 21 |
| Points: 117 | ||
| 20. | 
Georgia |
Preseason Rank: 16 |
| Points: 108 | ||
| 21. | 
Baylor |
Preseason Rank: 18 |
| Points: 94 | ||
| 22. | 
Minnesota |
Preseason Rank: 22 |
| Points: 78 | ||
| 23. | 
Tennessee |
Preseason Rank: 23 |
| Points: 61 | ||
| 24. |
|
Preseason Rank: 25 |
| Points: 57 | ||
| 25. | 
Mississippi State |
Preseason Rank: 24 |
| Points: 52 |
ArkansasDropped Out: UCF
New to Poll: Duke
Others receiving votes: Oregon State (28), UCF (23), Auburn (16), Georgia Tech (16), Northwestern (16), Texas A&M (10), Stanford (8), South Florida (6), Utah (6), Clemson (5), Ohio State (5), NC State (2), Texas Tech (1).
