College Rankings: Week 6… No Shocker Here as Sooners Remain Unanimous #1

Interesting that all of last week’s Top 10 DI teams remain in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Top 10 with just some shuffling of the order going on.

Oklahoma is still the clear-cut number one—being the only undefeated team in the Top 25—but UCLA and Oregon from the Pac-12 have only lost once each and are looking strong at this point as well.

After all the action in Week 6, here are the latest college rankings…

*****

Oklahoma Continues as Unanimous No. 1 in 2021 USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Poll

Oklahoma continues its hold as the unanimous No. 1 in this week’s 2021 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Sooners (22-0), who hosted Team Mexico in three exhibitions last week, open up Big 12 Conference play on the road at RV Iowa State.

No. 2 UCLA rolled to four wins, three of which counted towards Pac-12 Conference standings, over then-No. 11 Arizona State. Extending their winning streak to 13 games, the Bruins (19-1) edged the Sun Devils (17-6) 2-1 (8 inn.) in the opener and followed with 6-1, 4-0 and 9-0 victories, holding ASU without a run over the final 18 innings of play.

A pair of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) programs, No. 11 Duke and No. 20 Clemson, continue their upward trends, each gaining three positions, the highest positive moves in the poll. The teams clash in a top-20 matchup this weekend in Clemson, S.C.

The Blue Devils (24-1) extended their program-record win streak to 18 games, following their third straight ACC-series sweep. Additionally, Duke’s game-three victory over Syracuse was the 100^th in program history. The Tigers (20-2) are also enjoying a win streak (17 games) of their own after a four-game sweep of Louisville on the road. It is tied for the longest winning streak amongst Clemson women’s programs (Volleyball / Women’s Tennis).

No. 3 Oregon (20-1) switched spots with No. 4 Alabama following four wins over Pac-12 foe Utah (5-2, 7-6, 3-0, 5-2) to run it win streak to 11 games. The Crimson Tide (24-2) won their Southeastern Conference (SEC) series versus No. 21 Tennessee. They rebounded from a 4-3 loss in the opener with 7-1 and 3-0 triumphs over the Lady Vols (21-5).

No. 5 Florida and No. 6 Washington held their respective spots in the rankings. The Gators (21-2) defeated North Dakota in non-conference action and held Mississippi State (1-0, 10-0, 8-0) scoreless in an SEC sweep. The Huskies (22-2) ran their win streak to 12 with two home triumphs over then-No. 7 Arizona in a rain-shortened Pac-12 series. The Wildcats (14-5), who slipped to No. 9, have now dropped three straight and six of their last eight.

Kentucky and Texas leapfrogged Arizona and Oklahoma State into the No. 7 and No. 8 spots. UK (23-2) enjoyed a 3-0 week with close non-conference wins over Eastern Kentucky (6-5) and Dayton (3-1, 3-1). The Longhorns (20-3) went 5-1, splitting with then-No. 15 Louisiana (4-0, 9-10), sweeping three games from New Mexico (5-3, 12-0, 8-1) and topping McNeese State (5-2) on the road.

Oklahoma State also fell two spots and enter the week at No. 10. The Cowgirls (23-4) posted a 3-2 mark at home, defeating UTSA (11-2) and splitting matchups with Wichita State (2-9, 5-2) and Kansas City (5-6, 13-0).

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 March 21. Programs not competing in 2021 will not be eligible for ranking consideration.

*****

2021 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – March 23 (Week 6)

New to Poll: None

Dropped Out: None 

Receiving Votes: Northwestern (41), Iowa State (22), Baylor (19), Illinois (12), Liberty (12), Southern Illinois (9), James Madison (7), Texas State (6), Wichita State (6), South Alabama (5), Texas A&M (4), Fresno State (3).

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 March 21.

*****

ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25

2021 Season – Week 6 – Mar. 23, 2021

For the fourth-straight week, Oklahoma (22-0) was voted No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.

The Sooners collected three wins in their exhibition series against the Mexico National Team during Week 6 of play, and are set to open up Big 12 Conference play at Iowa State this weekend.

No. 2 UCLA (19-1) swept then-No. 9 Arizona State (17-6) at home on opening week of Pac-12 play, outscoring the Sun Devils 21-2. No. 3 Alabama (24-2) went 2-1, claiming the weekend series over then-No. 19 Tennessee.

No. 4 Oregon (20-1), recording 20 wins for the second-fastest time in program history, went 4-0 against Utah in their first Pac-12 series of the season. No. 5 Florida (21-2) shutout Mississippi State the entire series after a midweek win over North Dakota for a perfect 4-0 week.

1.	Oklahoma (20) Big 12 Record: 22-0	Previous Rank: 1
		Points: 500
2.	UCLA Pac-12 Record: 19-1	Previous Rank: 3
		Points: 476
3.	Alabama SEC Record: 24-2	Previous Rank: 2
		Points: 446
4.	Oregon Pac-12 Record: 20-1	Previous Rank: 4
		Points: 418
5.	Florida SEC Record: 21-2	Previous Rank: 5
		Points: 417
6.	Washington Pac-12 Record: 22-2	Previous Rank: 7
		Points: 405
7.	Kentucky SEC Record: 23-2	Previous Rank: 10
		Points: 327
8.	Arizona Pac-12 Record: 14-5	Previous Rank: 8
		Points: 310
9.	Oklahoma State Big 12 Record: 23-4	Previous Rank: 6
		Points: 306
10.	Texas Big 12 Record: 20-3	Previous Rank: 11
		Points: 302
11.	LSU SEC Record: 17-8	Previous Rank: 12
		Points: 293
12.	Duke ACC Record: 24-1	Previous Rank: 14
		Points: 270
13.	Florida State ACC Record: 16-6	Previous Rank: 13
		Points: 252
14.	Arizona State Pac-12 Record: 17-6	Previous Rank: 9
		Points: 246
15.	Arkansas SEC Record: 23-3	Previous Rank: 17
		Points: 232
16.	Virginia Tech ACC Record: 15-4	Previous Rank: 16
		Points: 180
17.	Louisiana Sun Belt Record: 16-6	Previous Rank: 15
		Points: 172
18.	Georgia SEC Record: 21-3	Previous Rank: 20
		Points: 166
19.	Tennessee SEC Record: 21-5	Previous Rank: 19
		Points: 158
20.	Missouri SEC Record: 20-6	Previous Rank: 18
		Points: 109
21.	Clemson ACC Record: 20-2	Previous Rank: 25
		Points: 85
22.	Northwestern Big Ten Record: 11-1	Previous Rank: 22
		Points: 77
23.	South Carolina SEC Record: 17-7	Previous Rank: 24
		Points: 66
24.	UCF AAC Record: 19-6	Previous Rank: 21
		Points: 37
25.	Auburn SEC Record: 18-6	Previous Rank: 23
		Points: 36

Parenthesis denotes first place votes.

Dropped Out: none
New to Poll: none

Others receiving votes: Texas A&M (34), James Madison (31), Illinois (25), Baylor (21), Texas State (20), Stanford (17), Iowa State (16), Michigan (14), Virginia (10), Mississippi State (10), Southern Illinois (10), Minnesota (5), Western Kentucky (1).