No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 Texas Lead Big 12 in ESPN Softball Top 25 Poll
The first weekend of Big 12 softball provided a few answers as to what the conference race might look like, but there’s still so much we don’t know.
However, if we take what we’ve seen in the first week of action and project it over the rest of the year, the Big 12 is going to be one heck of a league in 2024.
The top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners moved to 4-0 after their first weekend, knocking off No. 6 Washington and No. 10 Duke in the process. OU retained all 25 first-place votes from the preseason poll and looked strong in their opening weekend.
The most impressive team in the country this past weekend though had to be Texas, who outscored their opponents 64-5 over five games, including a 16-0 route of No. 20 UCLA. While the Bruins didn’t look like themselves this weekend, it was still an impressive showing from the Longhorns, who moved up to No. 3 this week after going 5-0 to start the year.
Oklahoma State also moved to 5-0 in their first weekend of the season and also put a thumping on UCLA (9-1, 5 inn) while visiting the Golden State. The Cowgirls might have themselves one heck of a pitching staff again, with Lexi Kilfoyl and Kyra Aycock leading the way for the eighth-ranked team in the country.
Baylor didn’t get off to the start they’d hoped for in the Getterman Classic, dropping a pair of games to No. 2 Tennessee and having the third game of the series canceled. Despite falling to 0-2 to begin the year, the Bears are still getting some respect in the polls, falling just three spots to No. 22 this week.
Here’s a look at the entire Top 25 Poll, courtesy of ESPN.com and USA Softball.
| RANK | COLLEGE | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma (25) | 4-0 | 625 | 1 |
| 2 | Tennessee | 3-0 | 591 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas | 5-0 | 583 | 5 |
| 4 | Georgia | 5-0 | 525 | 6 |
| 5 | Florida State | 4-1 | 464 | 4 |
| 6 | Washington | 3-1 | 452 | 10 |
| 7 | Clemson | 4-1 | 449 | 7 |
| 8 | Oklahoma State | 5-0 | 445 | 11 |
| 9 | Stanford | 3-2 | 411 | 3 |
| 10 | Duke | 3-1 | 395 | 9 |
| 11 | Alabama | 5-0 | 372 | 14 |
| 12 | LSU | 5-0 | 348 | 15 |
| 13 | Arkansas | 4-1 | 276 | 12 |
| 14 | Oregon | 4-2 | 238 | 13 |
| 15 | Missouri | 5-0 | 231 | NR |
| 16 | Utah | 4-1 | 222 | 16 |
| 17 | Virginia Tech | 4-0-1 | 220 | 23 |
| 18 | Kentucky | 4-1 | 219 | NR |
| 19 | Florida | 4-1 | 207 | 18 |
| 20 | UCLA | 2-3 | 150 | 8 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 5-0 | 123 | 22 |
| 22 | Baylor | 0-2 | 109 | 19 |
| 23 | Louisiana | 4-1 | 98 | 21 |
| 24 | Auburn | 1-1-1 | 95 | 20 |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 4-0 | 70 | 24 |
Dropped out: Nebraska, Northwestern
Others receiving votes: Nebraska (39), Northwestern (35), Indiana (28), San Diego State (25), Arizona (23), Charlotte (20), Michigan (17), McNeese (5), Boise State (4), Louisville (3), Miami-OH (2), Texas Tech (2), California (1), Minnesota (1)
