FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 30, 2018

 

Oklahoma claims No. 1 spot in preseason ESPN.com-USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll

 

OKLAHOMA CITY — With the start of the 2018 season around the corner, two-time defending National Champion Oklahoma has secured the top spot in the preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, USA Softball announced today.  Rounding out the Top 5 is No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Washington. The Sooners received 18 first-place votes to land the top spot in the preseason poll, while Oregon and UCLA split the remaining two votes.

 

Click here to see a complete listing of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate 2018 Top 25 preseason Poll

 

The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is currently in its 16th year. Starting Feb. 13, regular season polls will be released for 14 consecutive Tuesdays with the final poll of the season to be released on June 12 following the NCAA Women’s College World Series. The first of 14 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week accolades will also be announced on Feb. 13 with a player chosen each Tuesday of the regular season. 

In addition to conducting the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll and the USA Softball Player of the Week, USA Softball is also in the 17th season of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. The Top 50 Watch List for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be announced Jan. 31 with the Top 25 announced April 25, the Top 10 announced May 9 and the Top 3 announced May 23. The 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed May 29. 

 

The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is voted on by coaching representatives of 11 Division I Conferences in the 10 USA Softball Regions as well as members of the National and Local media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country.

 

About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 69 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million.  USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch.  USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships.  The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game. 

As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit,www.USASoftball.com.

 

About the NCAA Women’s College World Series

USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium – OGE Energy Field serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 28th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and compete for a national championship. Last year, over 70,000 fans attended the WCWS. Be there to Share The Experience with softball fans from across the country May 31-June 5/6 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2018 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and secure your championship experience!

 

Katie Willis I Communications Manager

USA Softball

2801 NE 50th Street

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111
405-425-3425 (O)

Visit Us Online: USASoftball.com

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