College Rankings: Week 9… Oklahoma’s Undefeated Streak This Year Now at 30; Sooners are #1 for 7th Straight Week

Oklahoma has now compiled a 37 game win streak going back to last season and continued to roll across the college softball landscape!

After all the action in Week 9, here are the latest college rankings per the two big polls: USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball.

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Oklahoma continues to roll as No. 1 in 2021 USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Poll

Oklahoma cruised to two more wins and enters its seventh consecutive week at No. 1 in the 2021 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Sooners (30-0) extended their win streak to 37 games following run-rule victories over Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech.

OU returns to Big 12 play this upcoming weekend, welcoming No. 6 Texas to Marita Hynes Field for a three-game set. The Sooners have not lost a league game since 2017 and a series since 2011.

Minnesota (19-5) comes in at No. 24 after a four-game sweep of then-No. 22 Northwestern. The Gophers (19-5), who make their return to the top 25 after being ranked in the first three polls, won a pair of extra-inning affairs, while also earning 6-2 and 10-4 victories in Evanston, Ill.

The other newcomer is No. 25 Wichita State (28-5), winner of nine straight and 18 of its last 20 contests. The Shockers, ranked for the first time in the NFCA’s Top 25, extended their win streak with a four-game sweep of Houston in American Athletic Conference play.

The top 10 had very little movement as No. 3 Alabama and No. 4 Oregon switched spots, and Kentucky, which was tied for 10^th last week, fell to No. 12.

Second-ranked UCLA took three-of-four from Oregon. The Ducks (27-5) captured the opener with a 3-0 shutout before the Bruins (22-2) responded with 3-0, 9-3 and 6-2 triumphs. Alabama (31-5) went on the road and earned two wins in a tightly-contested Southeastern Conference (SEC) series at No. 10 Arkansas. The Crimson Tide won the opener, 5-3 and the rubber game, 2-0, handing the Razorbacks (33-5), 4-0 game-two victors, their first two SEC defeats of the season.

No. 5 Florida, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Arizona and No. 9 Florida State enjoyed undefeated weeks. The Gators took the rubber game from No. 20 Georgia on April 5 and then picked up three non-conference victories over the weekend. The Longhorns earned four road wins, the latter three in Big 12 play against Texas Tech.

The Wildcats (24-5) posted two triumphs over New Mexico State, and the Seminoles (27-6) swept three from then-No. 16 Duke in an Atlantic Coast Conference series. Rounding out the top 10, No. 6 Washington posted a 3-1 series win over Oregon State. The Huskies (31-5) captured all three Pac-12 contests, while dropping the one non-conference tilt.

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 April 11. Programs not competing in 2021 will not be eligible for ranking consideration.

2021 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – April 13 (Week 9)

New to Poll: No. 24 Minnesota, No. 25 Wichita State.

Dropped Out: No. 22 Northwestern, No. 25 Texas State.

Receiving Votes: James Madison (38), Northwestern (16), Fresno State (12), Auburn (9), Miami University (6), Ole Miss (4), Texas A&M (4), BYU (3), Troy (3), Western Kentucky (3), Cal State Fullerton (1), Liberty (1), South Alabama (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 April 11.

*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 9 – April 13, 2021

With their Big 12 series at Baylor postponed, No. 1 Oklahoma (30-0, 6-0 Big 12) hit the road and collected non-conference wins over Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech to improve to a 30-0 record.

Outhitting the opponents by a combined 17-2, the Sooners pitching staff posted their 16th and 17th shutout games of the season. Oklahoma is the only Top 25 team to boast an undefeated record.

No. 2 UCLA (22-2, 5-1 Pac-12) competed in their second conference series of the season, going 3-1 against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene. With the series split against then-tied for No. 8 Arkansas, No. 3 Alabama (31-5, 11-4 SEC) clinched the weekend series behind Montana Fouts’ complete game three-hit shutout on Sunday.

No. 4 Florida (30-4, 10-2 SEC) capped off their SEC series against then-No. 22 Georgia with a 8-1 win and posted back-to-back wins over USF on Wednesday. The Gators then collected a 5-2 victory over Western Kentucky before playing Softball Canada in an exhibition game over the weekend.

Rounding out the Top 5 and dropping a spot is No. 5 Oregon (27-5, 6-3 Pac-12) who won the opening game, 3-0, against Pac-12 foe UCLA before dropping the next three games at home.

Eight conferences are represented in the Week 9 ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, with the Southeastern Conference (SEC) leading the way with eight college programs.

1.	Oklahoma (19) Big 12 Record: 30-0	Previous Rank: 1
		Points: 499
2.	UCLA Pac-12 Record: 22-2	Previous Rank: 2
		Points: 476
3.	Alabama (1) SEC Record: 31-5	Previous Rank: 3
		Points: 452
4.	Florida SEC Record: 30-4	Previous Rank: 5
		Points: 430
5.	Oregon Pac-12 Record: 27-5	Previous Rank: 4
		Points: 409
6.	Washington Pac-12 Record: 31-5	Previous Rank: 6
		Points: 386
7.	Arizona Pac-12 Record: 24-5	Previous Rank: 7
		Points: 361
8.	Texas Big 12 Record: 31-3	Previous Rank: T8
		Points: 357
9.	Florida State ACC Record: 27-6	Previous Rank: 10
		Points: 350
10.	Arkansas SEC Record: 33-5	Previous Rank: T8
		Points: 338
11.	Oklahoma State Big 12 Record: 32-5	Previous Rank: 12
		Points: 289
12.	Kentucky SEC Record: 28-7	Previous Rank: 11
		Points: 265
13.	Arizona State Pac-12 Record: 25-10	Previous Rank: 14
		Points: 233
14.	Virginia Tech ACC Record: 25-6	Previous Rank: 13
		Points: 232
15.	LSU SEC Record: 24-13	Previous Rank: 15
		Points: 225
16.	Tennessee SEC Record: 28-6	Previous Rank: 16
		Points: 184
17.	Louisiana Sun Belt Record: 31-6	Previous Rank: 17
		Points: 179
18.	Clemson ACC Record: 26-4	Previous Rank: 18
		Points: 156
19.	Missouri SEC Record: 29-9	Previous Rank: 19
		Points: 139
20.	Georgia SEC Record: 25-8	Previous Rank: 22
		Points: 109
21.	Duke ACC Record: 27-9	Previous Rank: 20
		Points: 89
22.	Michigan Big Ten Record: 16-4	Previous Rank: 24
		Points: 69
23.	Minnesota Big Ten Record: 19-5	Previous Rank: RV
		Points: 65
24.	James Madison CAA Record: 19-1	Previous Rank: RV
		Points: 54
25.	UCF AAC Record: 29-9	Previous Rank: RV
		Points: 46

Parenthesis denotes first place votes.

Dropped Out: Northwestern, Texas A&M, Texas State
New to Poll: James Madison, Minnesota, UCF

Others receiving votes: Northwestern (31), Auburn (23), Wichita State (17), Boston (13), Ole Miss (8), Texas State (8), Liberty (5), Texas A&M (5), South Alabama (3), Ohio State (2), Western Kentucky (1), Fresno State (1).