COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M softball team will start the 2014 season on Feb. 7 with a No. 11 national ranking in the preseason USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Poll, voted on by the country's coaches and released today.
The Aggies, who ended last season with a No. 17 RPI ranking and listed at No. 13 in the final USA Today/NFCA Â poll, finished 2013 at the NCAA Super Regional level for the fifth time in program history.
Texas A&M is one of a national-best eight Southeastern Conference (SEC) institutions in the top 25, ranking behind No. 1 Tennessee, No. 4 Florida and No. 6 Alabama. Rounding out the list for the SEC are No. 12 Kentucky, No. 14 Missouri, No. 17 LSU and No. 23 Georgia.
The Aggies' 2014 slate includes seven teams listed among the preseason NFCA top 25, and seven that are receiving votes. In addition to Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri and Georgia, Texas A&M will face No. 9 Nebraska and No. 24 California. Arizona, Arkansas, Tulsa, Wisconsin, Auburn, Houston and Oregon State are each receiving votes, and will compete against Texas A&M this year.
The 11th-ranked Aggies start the 2014 season on Feb. 7 at UC Santa Barbara's Gaucho Classic I, beginning the team's search for a 13th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament and a berth to the Women's College World Series.
To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.
USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Poll – Preseason -- Jan. 21, 2014
|
Rank |
Team |
2013 Record |
Totals |
Final 2013 Rank |
|
1 |
Tennessee (7) |
52-12 |
729 |
2 |
|
2 |
Oklahoma (17) |
57-4 |
720 |
1 |
|
3 |
Washington (1) |
45-17 |
702 |
4 |
|
4 |
Florida (6) |
58-9 |
684 |
5 |
|
5 |
Michigan (1) |
51-13 |
652 |
6 |
|
6 |
Alabama |
45-15 |
604 |
10 |
|
7 |
Arizona State |
50-12 |
593 |
7 |
|
8 |
Oregon |
50-11 |
576 |
9 |
|
9 |
Nebraska |
45-16 |
572 |
8 |
|
10 |
Texas |
51-10 |
532 |
3 |
|
11 |
Texas A&M |
42-18 |
383 |
13 |
|
12 |
Kentucky |
41-21 |
374 |
14 |
|
13 |
Louisiana Lafayette |
47-15 |
367 |
12 |
|
14 |
Missouri |
38-14 |
357 |
11 |
|
15 |
Florida State |
44-19 |
317 |
15 |
|
16 |
UCLA |
40-20 |
282 |
21 |
|
17 |
LSU |
42-16 |
269 |
18 |
|
18 |
Baylor |
42-17 |
244 |
20 |
|
19 |
Louisville |
48-13 |
235 |
19 |
|
20 |
South Alabama |
48-9 |
194 |
17 |
|
21 |
UAB |
40-19 |
181 |
16 |
|
22 |
Stanford |
39-21 |
164 |
22 |
|
23 |
Georgia |
40-21 |
149 |
RV |
|
24 |
California |
38-19 |
125 |
23 |
|
25 |
USF |
45-16 |
98 |
RV |
 Others Receiving Votes:  Hawai'i (86), Arizona (45), Arkansas (28), Hofstra (27), Tulsa (23), Wisconsin (21), N.C. State (16), Auburn (10), Long Beach State (8), Notre Dame (8), Virginia Tech (8), Houston (6), BYU (5), Oregon State (3), North Carolina (2), Western Kentucky (1)