Softball Ranked No. 16, Again

NORMAN, Okla. The final preseason poll was released Tuesday as the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Poll has the Sooners ranked at No. 16. Last week, the Sooners were also tabbed at No. 16 in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Poll.

Oklahoma is one of five Big 12 schools in the poll while the top-25 list features eight of the Sooners' opponents this season, including three in the top 10 (No. 1 Arizona, No. 6 Oregon State, No. 10 Cal).

Defending national champion Arizona earned 13 first-place votes to claim the top spot. The University of Tennessee is close behind Arizona with 476 points after collecting five first-place votes. UCLA will begin the season ranked third after being sent home from the 2006 WCWS by fourth-ranked Northwestern, who advanced to the Championship Series against Arizona last season. Rounding out the top five is Arizona State.

2007 Schedule | 2007 Roster | NFCA Poll | USA Softball Poll

WCWS participant Oregon State comes in at No. 6 while LSU (No. 7), Alabama (No.8), Stanford (No. 9) and Cal (No. 10) round out the top 10.
Washington begins the season in the No. 11 spot, followed by Georgia.

No. 17 Louisiana-Lafayette is sandwiched between five Big 12 schools as Texas A&M and Nebraska are ahead of Oklahoma at No. 14 and 15, respectively. Fellow Big 12 foes Baylor and Texas are tied for 18th in the preseason poll.

Rounding out the top-25 are Fresno State, Louisville, NC State, South Florida, UMass and Florida State.

The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll is voted on by NCAA Division I coaches representing 15 different ASA regions and 11 different collegiate conferences. The poll is also voted on by selected softball media members.

OU kicks off the 2007 season with its annual Meet the Team banquet this Friday, Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. inside the Sooner Legends Inn and Suites at 6:30 p.m. Tickets ($20) are still available for the ceremony. For tickets call Kaycee Clark at (405) 325-8377.

The Sooners will open their season in Miami, Fla. at the Diamond Fun and Sun Classic (Feb. 9-11) where they will face preseason No. 21 Louisville in their opening game.

ESPN.com/USA Softball CollegiateTop 25 Preseason Softball Poll
OU's 2007 opponents in italics. First-place votes are in parenthesis.

1. Arizona (13)
2. Tennessee (5)
3. UCLA (2)
4. Northwestern
5. Arizona State
6. Oregon State
7. LSU
8. Alabama
9. Stanford
10. California
11. Washington
12. Georgia
13. Michigan
14. Texas A&M
15. Nebraska
16. OKLAHOMA
17. Louisiana-Lafayette
T18. Baylor
T18. Texas
20. Fresno State
21. Louisville
22. NC State
23. South Florida
24. UMass
25. Florida State

Others Receiving Votes:
Auburn (44), Kansas (39), Florida (25), Fullerton (12), Virginia Tech (10), Georgia Tech (8), San Diego State (6), Notre Dame (5), Iowa (4), Oregon (2), Illinois State (2), Southern Illinois (2), North Carolina (2) and Long Beach State (1).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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