For the 11th consecutive week, Oklahoma is the top-ranked team in the Extra Inning Softball Top 25 poll.
Virginia Tech returns to the 2nd spot in the rankings, a familiar position for the Hokies, after sweeping a weekend series against Louisville. Another ACC team, Florida State, checks in at #3 after sweeping Clemson this weekend.
As they build their lead in the SEC standings and coming off a sweep of Florida in Gainesville, Arkansas checks in at #4 in this week’s poll. The Hogs are the highest-ranked SEC team and ascend to their highest spot of the season in the Top 25 poll.
Alabama and Northwestern both fell several spots, but remain in the top 10 – Alabama, checking in at #7, lost a series to Texas A&M including being run-ruled in game two in College Station. Northwestern, at #8 in this week’s poll, lost a midweek game to Illinois in a doubleheader split and went to extra innings in game two of what was ultimately a 3-game sweep against Indiana.
Two PAC-12 teams are the week’s biggest positive movers; Washington jumps up nine spots to #10 in this week’s rankings, while Stanford climbs ten spots in total to #15. The Huskies swept a 3-game series against Oregon and are on a hot streak at the right point in the season despite some early struggles in conference play. Stanford took a series win over Arizona State and are quietly redeeming some early-season losses with rather impressive PAC results.
A number of teams faltered, but remained ranked, in this week’s poll after disappointing results in Week 11; Clemson, Texas, Kentucky, and Florida all suffered series sweeps, while Georgia and Nebraska came out on the losing end of their respective conference series’.
New to this week’s poll are Wichita State and Georgia Tech. The Shockers are 28-13 on the year and their offense, led by Sydney McKinney and Addison Barnard, is as good as it has been. Georgia Tech has some impressive wins on their resume, checks in with 36 wins on the nation’s 50th-toughest schedule, and looks like a sure-fire NCAA tournament team.
The SEC leads all leagues with eight teams in the Week 11 Top 25 poll. The ACC places six teams in this week’s poll – a season high for the conference – while the PAC-12 is represented by four teams and the Big 12 and Big 10 boast three and two teams in the poll, respectively. The American also has two teams in the Top 25 for the first time this season.
Extra Inning Softball‘s Top 25 voting group includes working media members who regularly cover softball, as well as a group of coaches and SIDs.
New to Poll: #24 Wichita State, #25 Georgia Tech
Dropped Out: Oregon State, Illinois
