Jan. 26, 2010
Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri softball team will begin their 36th season of play as the No. 9 team in the country according to the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I Top-25 preseason poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason Top 25, both released today. The Tigers have now been ranked in the preseason top-25 for four consecutive seasons, and the No. 9 ranking is the highest the program has started in over 11 seasons.
In the USA Today/NFCA poll, Washington, last year's national champion, unanimously claimed the No. 1 spot with all 30 votes. Alabama, Florida, Michigan and Arizona State, all 2009 Women's College World Series participants, round out the top five. Washington also claimed the top ranking in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, with Alabama, Michigan, Arizona and Florida ranking two through five, respectively.
The Tigers are coming off a season that saw them claim Big 12 Tournament, NCAA Regional and NCAA Super Regional championships on their way to the WCWS for the first time in 15 years. Last year, Missouri sat at No. 16 in the preseason poll before finishing eighth in the nation to end the season, the team's highest end of the season ranking in program history.
Missouri will face off against seven of the USA Today/NFCA initial poll's top 25 teams this season, beginning with a three-game series at No. 2 Alabama starting on Feb. 13. From there, the Tigers will head to Tuscon, Ariz., to take on the No. 6 Arizona Wildcats in another three-game set. Mizzou will move on to Columbus, Ga., for the 2010 Leadoff Classic, where the team will battle three top-25 teams – No. 4 Michigan, No. 20 Massachusetts and No. 24 Louisiana-Lafayette. At the Mizzou Classic in mid-March, Missouri will take on No. 15 Northwestern, before facing off with No. 11 Oklahoma the following week to open Big 12 play. The Tigers will battle No. 17 Baylor in early May.
Missouri joins Baylor and Oklahoma as the Big 12 representatives in the polls, though Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Nebraska all received votes.
The first regular season poll of the 2010 season will be released on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
USA Today/NFCA Top 25
|
RANK |
TEAM |
'09 Record |
TOTALS |
Last Poll |
|
1 |
Washington (30) |
51-12 |
750 |
1 |
|
2 |
Alabama |
54-11 |
677 |
3 |
|
3 |
Florida |
63-5 |
649 |
2 |
|
4 |
Michigan |
47-12 |
625 |
6 |
|
5 |
Arizona St. |
47-19 |
613 |
5 |
|
6 |
Arizona |
46-17 |
597 |
7 |
|
7 |
Georgia |
47-12 |
569 |
4 |
|
8 |
UCLA |
45-11 |
558 |
9 |
|
9 |
Missouri |
50-12 |
536 |
8 |
|
10 |
Stanford |
48-11 |
433 |
10 |
|
11 |
Oklahoma |
41-16 |
401 |
16 |
|
12 |
California |
38-20 |
370 |
11 |
|
13 |
Georgia Tech |
46-15 |
319 |
13 |
|
14 |
Ohio St. |
47-11 |
312 |
12 |
|
15 |
Northwestern |
31-15 |
288 |
18 |
|
16 |
Tennessee |
40-18-1 |
245 |
20 |
|
17 |
Baylor |
40-22 |
226 |
15 |
|
18 |
LSU |
34-18-1 |
219 |
19 |
|
19 |
North Carolina |
47-13 |
209 |
17 |
|
20 |
Massachusetts |
41-10 |
199 |
14 |
|
21 |
DePaul |
39-14 |
178 |
23 |
|
22 |
Louisville |
48-11 |
166 |
RV |
|
23 |
Florida St. |
44-16 |
109 |
22 |
|
24 |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
45-13 |
88 |
25 |
|
25 |
Fresno St. |
38-20 |
75 |
RV |
Others Receiving Votes:
North Dakota St. 44, Jacksonville St. 38, Cal Poly 37, Nevada 31, Nebraska 28, Texas 23, Notre Dame 21, Cal St. Fullerton 17, San Diego St. 15, Iowa 11, Kentucky 11, Purdue 10, Hawaii 8, Mississippi St. 7, Southern Illinois 7, Cal St. Northridge 6, Texas A&M 6, Tulsa 6, Creighton 4, BYU 3, Houston 3, Oklahoma St. 3
ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25
|
Rank
|
Team
|
2009 Record
|
Points
|
Last Rank in 09
|
|
1.
|
Washington (17)
|
51-12
|
479
|
1
|
|
2.
|
Alabama (1)
|
54-11
|
457
|
3
|
|
3.
|
Michigan
|
47-12
|
430
|
5
|
|
4.
|
Arizona (1)
|
46-17
|
424
|
7
|
|
5.
|
Florida
|
63-5
|
407
|
2
|
|
6.
|
UCLA (1)
|
45-11
|
396
|
10
|
|
7.
|
Arizona State
|
47-19
|
387
|
6
|
|
8.
|
Georgia
|
47-12
|
363
|
4
|
|
9.
|
Missouri
|
50-12
|
337
|
8
|
|
10.
|
Oklahoma
|
41-16
|
306
|
17
|
|
11.
|
California
|
38-20
|
282
|
12
|
|
12.
|
Stanford
|
48-11
|
256
|
9
|
|
13.
|
LSU
|
34-18-1
|
234
|
19
|
|
14.
|
Georgia Tech
|
46-15
|
215
|
13
|
|
15.
|
Baylor
|
40-22
|
214
|
15
|
|
16.
|
Ohio State
|
47-11
|
187
|
11
|
|
17.
|
Northwestern
|
31-15
|
167
|
20
|
|
18.
|
Tennessee
|
40-18-1
|
163
|
16
|
|
19.
|
Florida State
|
44-16
|
128
|
25
|
|
20.
|
DePaul
|
39-14
|
107
|
23
|
|
21.
|
Louisville
|
48-11
|
93
|
24
|
|
22.
|
North Carolina
|
47-13
|
91
|
22
|
|
23.
|
ULL
|
45-13
|
84
|
RV
|
|
24.
|
Fresno State
|
38-20
|
70
|
RV
|
|
25.
|
UMass
|
41-10
|
55
|
14
|