February 25, 2003
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M Softball Team, ranked 19th in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25, is ranked No. 20 in the first ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 released today.
The Aggies are one of five Big 12 schools ranked in the poll. The highest ranked team from the Big 12 is the University of Texas (16-0) at No. 2 while Nebraska (12-1) is ranked third. The Oklahoma Sooners, with a 7-3 record sit at No. 11 followed by the 12-6 Aggies at No. 20 and the Cowgirls of Oklahoma State (9-3) at No. 23. Kansas (10-3) and Baylor (14-7) also received votes.
UCLA was ranked first in the poll followed by Texas, Nebraska, Arizona (17-2), and Washington (12-0-1) rounding out the top five. The Pac-10 Conference has seven schools ranked in the top 25, the most of any conference, while the Big 12 is second with five teams.
Texas A&M plays eleven of the schools listed in the poll including: No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Arizona, No. 7 Cal State Fullerton, No. 10 Stanford, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 12 Georgia, No. 15 Florida State, No. 18 Massachusetts, No. 21 Michigan and No. 23 Oklahoma State.
The Aggies take on No. 21 Michigan on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the Aggie Softball Complex before heading to Palo Alto, California on Thursday to play Stanford, Georgia, and Long Beach State in the Stanford Classic.
The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 is voted on by NCAA Division I coaches representing 15 different ASA regions and 12 different collegiate conferences. The poll is also voted on by selected softball media members. Records are as of February 24, 2003.
Rank Team Record Points
1. UCLA (15) 14-1 446
2. Texas (3) 16-0 413
3. Nebraska 12-1 408
4. Arizona 17-2 405
5. Washington 12-0-1 393
6. California 12-3 337
7. Cal State Fullerton 12-5 311
8. LSU 11-4 304
9. Arizona State 14-3 287
10. Stanford 12-3 271
11. Oklahoma 7-3 269
12. Georgia 18-1 255
13. Alabama 13-5 228
14. DePaul 6-2 221
15. Florida State 11-5 205
16. South Carolina 9-5 175
17. Oregon State 13-5 164
18. Massachusetts 5-3 138
19. Ohio State 5-4 92
20. Texas A&M 12-6 84
21. Michigan 3-5 75
22. Oregon 12-5 67
23. Oklahoma State 9-3 60
24. South Florida 16-4 38
25. Pacific 6-6 30
Others receiving votes: Minnesota 24, Florida 21, Kansas 20, Fresno State 17, Baylor 16, Georgia Tech 13, UC Santa Barbara 12, Illinois 8, Southern Illinois 7.