OU, OSU Lead Four Ranked Big 12 Softball Teams in ESPN Top 25 Poll
The Oklahoma Sooners are back and better than ever and remained in the top spot in the nation after another four-win week outscoring opponents by a whopping 39-1. The team’s spot is pretty solidified at this point on ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll on a weekly basis unless the team manages to lose but with the Sooners’ hot streak, I wouldn’t bet against them.
The Oklahoma State Cowgirls on the other hand matched the Sooners with a great week of their own. The third-ranked Cowgirls outscored opponents in a four-win week outscoring opponents 30-2 ahead of their three-game series with the Florida State Seminoles. The performance from the Cowgirls was good enough to sweep the weekly awards from the Big 12 Conference with Micaela Wark earning Big 12 Player of the Week honors and teammate Lexi Kilfoyl earning Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors.
Oklahoma State and Oklahoma both remained in the same spots this week without being jumped by any other teams. Both squads have only one loss on the season so far and until that changes, odds are their rankings will stay roughly the same.
Texas jumped from the 11-spot to the 10th spot on the list following a six-win week in which they took down North Texas, Tennessee State, Louisiana twice, McNeese State, and Princeton. In this stretch, the Longhorns outscored their opponents 23-11.
Baylor rose again after another big week which included an 8-0 shutout against UT Arlington which propelled to Bears to jump three spots for the second straight week to the No. 16 spot.
Here’s a look at the entire ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll for Week 4.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma (25) | 17-1 | 625 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 22-1 | 599 | 2 |
| 3 | Oklahoma State | 18-1 | 567 | 3 |
| 4 | Clemson | 20-1 | 545 | 4 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 16-1 | 510 | 6 |
| 6 | Florida State | 20-3 | 504 | 5 |
| 7 | Arkansas | 19-3 | 472 | 7 |
| 8 | Stanford | 19-2 | 449 | 8 |
| 9 | Alabama | 17-3 | 419 | 9 |
| 10 | Texas | 17-2-1 | 379 | 11 |
| 11 | Washington | 18-3 | 348 | 12 |
| 12 | Florida | 14-3 | 337 | 10 |
| 13 | Virginia Tech | 14-4 | 321 | 13 |
| 14 | LSU | 20-1 | 316 | 15 |
| 15 | Duke | 17-4 | 297 | 14 |
| T-16 | Kentucky | 12-5-1 | 216 | T-16 |
| T-16 | Baylor | 17-2 | 216 | 19 |
| 18 | Georgia | 17-5 | 209 | T-16 |
| 19 | Oregon | 16-4 | 162 | 20 |
| 20 | Arizona | 15-6 | 160 | 18 |
| 21 | Auburn | 20-2 | 143 | 21 |
| 22 | Northwestern | 9-7 | 64 | 22 |
| 23 | Missouri | 15-6 | 49 | 23 |
| T-24 | Louisiana | 13-8 | 42 | 24 |
| T-24 | Arizona State | 15-3 | 42 | NR |
Dropped out: Texas A&M
New to poll: Arizona State
Others receiving votes: Texas A&M (38), Wichita State (32), Nebraska (17), Maryland (12), Utah (9), UCF (7), Cal State Fullerton (5), Mississippi State (5), Louisville (4), California (2), Central Arkansas (1), Stetson (1).
