RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Only two of the teams in the Top 10 lost (according to one poll) so there wasn’t as much change at the top of the Top 25 DI College Rankings this week and overall: in one poll no teams dropped out and in the other only one did.
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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Top eight remains the same in 2020 USA Today/NFCA D1 Top 25 Coaches Poll
UCLA continued its hold on No. 1 as there were no significant changes in the 2020 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Bruins (25-1) captured 31 of 32 possible first-place votes.
UCLA recorded five shutouts and allowed just two runs over six contests last week. The Bruins blanked then-No. 16 Michigan, then-No. 18 Minnesota, St. John’s, Boston University and Cal Poly, while also earning a 4-2 win over No. 22 UCF.
For the second time this season, the Bruins swept the weekly Pac-12 Conference awards, as Delanie Wisz was named Player of the Week, Megan Faraimo earned Pitcher of the Week honors and Lexi Sosa picked up Freshman of the Week accolades.https://t.co/zhh9V1kFkU#GoBruins
— UCLA Softball (@UCLASoftball) March 10, 2020
With no major movement, the top eight remained the same with a combined record of 34-1 last week. Oregon makes its return to the top 10 at No. 9, while Alabama slipped one spot to No. 10. The Ducks (21-2) won their first home games of the season, knocking off then-RV Loyola Marymount, Seattle twice and Portland.
No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Arizona, No. 5 LSU and No. 7 Florida each went 4-0, while No. 6 Oklahoma enjoyed a 5-0 week. No. 8 Louisiana earned a 2-1 Sun Belt series win over Coastal Carolina.
A new #⃣1⃣ !
Coach Candrea is the new @NCAAsoftball leader in career wins, picking up win No. 1,632 yesterday vs. Indiana.#BearDown 🐐 pic.twitter.com/2utNmLiPvj
— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) March 9, 2020
The Huskies (23-2) scored the most runs in a contest since 2016 in a 19-0 win over Santa Clara. The Crimson Tide (14-8) opened up Southeastern Conference (SEC) play at home, rebounding from an opening loss to No. 20 Arkansas (0-1) with a pair of resounding triumphs (10-1, 9-1)
The Longhorn (24-3) pitching staff twirled home three shutouts. The Tigers (20-3) offensive exploded for 21 runs in a shutout of Campbell and captured four home triumphs. The Gators (22-4) opened SEC play with a three-game home sweep of Auburn.
There were no new programs in the top 25. No. 21 Mississippi State and No. 24 Baylor made the biggest jump and fall, switching spots in the rankings.
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 March 8 with first-place votes in parentheses.
2020 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – March 10 (Week 5)
| Rank | School | Totals | 2020 Record | Previous |
| 1 | UCLA (31) | 799 | 25-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Washington (1) | 765 | 23-2 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas | 732 | 24-3 | 3 |
| 4 | Arizona | 695 | 21-3 | 4 |
| 5 | LSU | 660 | 20-3 | 5 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 636 | 20-4 | 6 |
| 7 | Florida | 598 | 21-4 | 7 |
| 8 | Louisiana | 536 | 16-6 | 8 |
| 9 | Oregon | 500 | 21-2 | 11 |
| 10 | Alabama | 491 | 14-8 | 9 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 471 | 18-4 | 10 |
| 12 | Florida State | 453 | 17-6 | 12 |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | 414 | 18-5 | 14 |
| 14 | Georgia | 396 | 22-5 | 13 |
| 15 | Arizona State | 280 | 20-7 | 17 |
| 16 | South Carolina | 275 | 15-6 | 15 |
| 17 | Virginia Tech | 267 | 19-4 | 19 |
| 18 | Michigan | 256 | 15-8 | 16 |
| 19 | Minnesota | 176 | 14-9-1 | 18 |
| 20 | Arkansas | 162 | 17-6 | 20 |
| 21 | Mississippi State | 149 | 23-3 | 24 |
| 22 | UCF | 137 | 19-5-1 | 22 |
| 23 | Missouri | 135 | 19-6 | 23 |
| 24 | Baylor | 134 | 17-5 | 21 |
| 25 | Fresno State | 106 | 21-4 | 25 |
Dropped Out: None.
Receiving Votes: Stanford (36), North Texas (23), San Jose State (23), Utah (23), Duke (21), Texas Tech (14), Houston (12), Wisconsin (8), Clemson (6), Cal State Fullerton (5), James Madison (5), North Carolina State (1).
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ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll – Week 5
No. 1 UCLA (25-1) remains at the top spot for the fourth straight week and the Top 5 remains intact on the Week 5 ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.
The Bruins beat St. John’s early in the week before posting three wins over ranked opponents (then-No. 16 Michigan, then-No. 19 Minnesota, and then-No. T22 UCF) and two run-rule victories (Boston and Cal Poly), highlighted by the 18th perfect game in UCLA softball history by freshman Lexi Sosa in the win over Boston, during their sweep of the UCLA/Long Beach State Invitational.
A perfect game in the circle, 5️⃣ RBIs, and her first home run as a Bruin. 🔥
A star-studded performance by @Lexiiisosaaa helps @UCLASoftball sweep the #Pac12SB weekly awards. ➡️ https://t.co/92xbh1LGVI pic.twitter.com/vRJyrYmV22
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 10, 2020
No. 2 Texas (24-3) posted four wins at their home Longhorn Invitational beating Liberty (twice), New Mexico and Texas Southern. Longhorn senior pitcher Miranda Elish posted her second career perfect game, striking out ten batters in the 7-0 win over New Mexico.
No. 3 Washington (23-2) also came out victorious in four games over Santa Clara, St. Francis, St. Mary’s and UC Santa Barbara at the Silicon Valley Classic in Santa Clara/San Jose, Calif. The 19-0 victory over Santa Clara marks the highest scoring game for Washington since 2016 and the Huskies five home runs were the most since hitting a school-record nine in 2011.
LSU (20-3) and Arizona (21-3) come in tied at No. 4 in the poll. Arizona beat Boise State, Indiana, SIUE and South Dakota at their home Wildcat Invitational keeping their 10-game winning streak alive. LSU posted four wins over Campbell and Illinois State, the Tigers beat both teams twice at the LSU Round Robin. LSU’s 21 runs during the first win over Campbell were the most runs scored in the new Tiger park and tied for second most in program history.
This marks the first week in the 2020 season all Top 5 teams went undefeated.
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
2020 Season – Week 5 – March 10, 2020
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous |
| 1. | UCLA (16) | 25-1 | 496 | 1 |
| 2. | Texas (4) | 24-3 | 471 | 2 |
| 3. | Washington | 23-2 | 467 | 3 |
| T4. | Arizona | 21-3 | 425 | 5 |
| T4. | LSU | 20-3 | 425 | 4 |
| 6. | Oklahoma | 20-4 | 389 | 6 |
| 7. | Florida | 21-4 | 369 | 8 |
| 8. | Louisiana-Lafayette | 16-6 | 339 | 7 |
| 9. | Oregon | 20-2 | 334 | 9 |
| 10. | Florida State | 17-6 | 298 | 11 |
| T11. | Kentucky | 18-3 | 294 | 10 |
| T11. | Oklahoma State | 18-5 | 294 | 12 |
| 13. | Alabama | 14-8 | 258 | 13 |
| 14. | Georgia | 22-5 | 232 | 14 |
| 15. | Arizona State | 19-7 | 195 | 15 |
| 16. | South Carolina | 15-6 | 166 | 17 |
| 17. | Michigan | 15-8 | 162 | 16 |
| 18. | Baylor | 17-5 | 145 | 18 |
| 19. | Minnesota | 14-9-1 | 116 | 19 |
| 20. | Arkansas | 17-5 | 112 | 20 |
| 21. | Virginia Tech | 19-4 | 110 | 21 |
| 22. | Mississippi State | 24-3 | 93 | T22 |
| 23. | UCF | 19-5-1 | 60 | T22 |
| 24. | Missouri | 19-6 | 58 | 24 |
| 25. | Fresno State | 21-4 | 43 | RV |
Parenthesis denotes first place votes.
Dropped Out: Utah
New to Poll: Fresno State