Alabama Softball Ranked No. 2 in Major Polls

After a strong opening weekend out West, Alabama softball strengthened its position as No. 2 in all major college softball polls. The Crimson Tide was ranked second in most preseason polls, but a few had them ranked third.

The performance in Arizona at the Candrea Classic was enough to put them at No. 2 right behind Oklahoma in the NFCA Coaches, D1 Softball, USA Softball and Softball America polls. The Sooners received all 32 first-place votes in the coaches poll. Eight different SEC teams are in the top 25 with Florida (No. 4) and Arkansas (No. 10) joining Alabama in the top 10.

Alabama went 4-0, outscoring opponents 35-4 with 10 home runs off Crimson Tide bats and 33 combined strikeouts from the four pitchers. The Crimson Tide beat Arizona 11-0 on Saturday night, and the Wildcats stayed at No. 9 in this week's NFCA Coaches poll.

This week, Alabama opens the home schedule with the Easton Bama Bash and will face No. 8 Virginia Tech twice during the tournament.

Week 1 NFCA Coaches Poll

1. Oklahoma

Sooners (32 first place), 4-0, 800 votes

2. Alabama

Crimson Tide 4-0, 765

3. UCLA

Bruins 4-1, 728

4. Florida

Gators 4-0, 669

5. Florida State

Seminoles 4-0, 665

6. Washington, 5-0, 639

7. Oklahoma State, 4-1, 604

8. Virginia Tech, 5-0, 540

9. Arizona, 3-1, 522

10. Arkansas, 3-2, 485

11. Texas, 4-1, 455

12. Oregon, 5-0, 379

13. Georgia, 5-1, 374

14. Duke, 4-1, 356

15. Clemson, 3-1, 345

16. Kentucky, 4-1, 294

17. Missouri, 3-2, 264

18. Tennessee, 4-0, 249

19. Michigan, 3-2, 226

20. Louisiana, 5-0, 208

21. LSU, 4-2, 207

22. James Madison, 0-0, 176

23. Arizona State, 3-2, 161

24. UCF, 3-1, 93

25. Wichita State, 4-1, 45