A red-hot Oklahoma squad dethroned UCLA as the No. 1 team in this week’s 2019 USA Today / NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Riding a 28-game winning streak, the Sooners (38-2) ended the Bruins’ (37-2) five-week run atop the poll.
OU captured 22 first-place votes and 790 points, while No. 2 UCLA received 10 first-place nods and 773 points. The Sooners extended their NCAA Division I-best active winning streak by cruising to three shutouts at Kansas in Big 12 play. Oklahoma last held the top spot in the first regular-season poll of 2018.
The Bruins had their 19-game winning streak snapped by Oregon, 4-3, in the Pac-12 series opener. UCLA bounced back from their first league loss of the season with 8-3 and 8-1 triumphs over the Ducks to win the series.
In addition to a new No. 1, No. 23 Northwestern and No. 25 Colorado State return to the poll following long absences. The Wildcats (33-7), last ranked at No. 25 on April 22, 2014, are on a roll, having won 11 straight. Northwestern swept then-No. 25 Wisconsin over the weekend to remain the lone undefeated program in Big Ten play.
It’s been 21 years since the Rams (31-6) were ranked (23rd – March 4, 2008). CSU is enjoying a record season, which includes a program-record 20-game winning streak and a 13-2 mark for the first-place team in the Mountain West.
No. 3 Washington inched up another spot. The Huskies (35-6) swept their fourth straight Pac-12 series, taking down then-No. 24 Arizona State and extending their winning streak to 13 contests.
Florida State slipped to No. 4 following a weather-shortened 1-1 week. The Seminoles (38-5) dropped a wild 10-9 game at Louisville on April 8, which snapped an unbeaten streak of 52 consecutive ACC series. The last time FSU dropped a league series was May 5-6, 2012 at Maryland. They bounced back with an 8-6 win on April 14 at North Carolina.
No. 5 and No. 6 Florida went a combined 7-0 last week. The Crimson Tide (41-4) became the first NCAA program to reach the 40-win plateau in 2019 following a win over Georgia State and two versus then-No. 13 Georgia. The Gators (36-9) posted their second straight Southeastern Conference series sweep at Texas A&M and added a 1-0 triumph over in-state rival USF.
No. 7 Arizona and No. 8 Tennessee each moved up one position, while LSU fell two spots to No. 9. The Wildcats (35-7) stepped out of Pac-12 play and swept a three-game set at Grand Canyon, while the Lady Vols (32-8) cruised to a three-game SEC sweep of Mississippi State. The Tigers (36-9) posted a 3-1 mark last week. LSU blanked McNeese State before a 2-1 series win over then-No. 23 Kentucky.
No. 10 Louisiana extended its winning streak to 14 with a 4-0 week. The Ragin’ Cajuns (37-4) defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 7-1, before heading to the mountains of North Carolina for a Sun Belt sweep of Appalachian State.
No. 24 Arizona State (25-17) and No. 25 Wisconsin (30-8) dropped out of the Top-25.
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2019 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – April 16 (Week 10)
Rank | School | Totals | Record | Prev. Ranking |
1 | Oklahoma (22) | 790 | 38-2 | 2 |
2 | UCLA (10) | 773 | 37-2 | 1 |
3 | Washington | 722 | 35-6 | 4 |
4 | Florida State | 695 | 38-5 | 3 |
5 | Alabama | 688 | 41-4 | 5 |
6 | Florida | 609 | 36-9 | 6 |
7 | Arizona | 600 | 35-7 | 8 |
8 | Tennessee | 564 | 32-8 | 9 |
9 | LSU | 560 | 36-9 | 7 |
10 | Louisiana | 524 | 37-4 | 10 |
11 | Texas | 477 | 35-9 | 11 |
12 | Texas Tech | 371 | 33-8 | 15 |
13 | Oklahoma State | 368 | 32-11 | 14 |
14 | Auburn | 353 | 33-10 | 12 |
15 | South Carolina | 350 | 31-12 | 16 |
16 | Georgia | 330 | 30-13 | 13 |
17 | Ole Miss | 290 | 30-11 | 17 |
18 | Minnesota | 248 | 29-10 | 19 |
19 | Arkansas | 241 | 31-14 | 18 |
20 | James Madison | 211 | 31-7 | 20 |
21 | Virginia Tech | 163 | 37-6 | 22 |
22 | Michigan | 132 | 29-11 | 21 |
23 | Northwestern | 118 | 33-7 | RV |
24 | Kentucky | 94 | 26-17 | 23 |
25 | Colorado State | 36 | 31-6 | RV |
New to Poll: No. 23 Northwestern, No. 25 Colorado State.
Dropped Out: No. 24 Arizona State, No. 25 Wisconsin.
Receiving Votes: Stanford (28), Boise State (19), Arizona State (17), Wisconsin (16), Missouri (5), Indiana (3), Mississippi State (2), Drake (1), Louisville (1), Tulsa (1).
The 2019 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. The records reflect games played through April 7, 2019