Jan. 19, 2006

Columbia, Mo. - Picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll, the University of Missouri softball team received 43 points as released today by the league office. Texas A&M, the 2005 Big 12 Champions, secured four first place votes of a possible 10 to earn the No. 1 ranking (76 points), with Texas tallying six votes and 75 points to lock down the No. 2 spot. All participating coaches in the Big 12 Conference voted on the annual preseason poll.

Baylor (61 points), Oklahoma (55 points), Nebraska (49 points), Missouri (43 points), Kansas (32 points), Texas Tech (28 points), Oklahoma State (22 points) and Iowa State (nine points) round out the preseason selection.

Eight starters, including five of Missouri's 2005 All-Big 12 team members, will return for the 2006 campaign. Coming off of a 44-15 season in which Missouri made its second consecutive Big 12 Championship tournament title game, the Tigers open action Friday, Feb. 10, with a three-game series against 2005 ACC Champions Georgia Tech. Conference play will begin Saturday, March 25 for the Tigers as they take on perennial powerhouse Oklahoma in a two-game series in Norman.

Both national preseason softball polls will be released next week - the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 on Tuesday, January 24 and the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association rankings on Wednesday, January 25.