Securing a second consecutive Pac-12 Conference title via a series victory over then-No. 9 Arizona allowed Oregon (49-7-1) the opportunity to finish out the regular season on top of the USA Today/NFCA Division I softball rankings.

The Ducks received 29 of 32 possible first-place votes after taking two-of-three road contests from the nationally ranked Wildcats, remaining at No. 1 for the sixth consecutive week.

A series victory at then-No. 3 Arizona State kept UCLA (48-6) in second as the Bruins reaped the three remaining first-place nods. Florida State (50-6) improved from fourth to third after sweeping through the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament with wins over Georgia Tech (11-5), North Carolina (9-1 in 5 inn.) and then-No. 20 Notre Dame (3-1).

Arizona State (44-10-1) dropped a slot to No. 4 following its series loss to UCLA, while Southeastern Conference regular season champion Alabama (45-11) advanced from sixth back into the top five by virtue of earning a semifinal berth in the league tournament.

A shutout loss to eventual titlist Georgia at the SEC tournament caused Florida (45-11) to drop one position to sixth. The Bulldogs (45-12) made this week’s largest positive move within the poll as UGA skyrocketed four slots to seventh following its trio of wins over ranked squads then-No. 5 Florida (W 2-0), then-No. 6 Alabama (W 5-3) and then-No. 16 Kentucky (W 5-2).

Washington’s (33-13) three-game sweep of Pac-12 foe California kept the Huskies at No. 8, while a one-and-out appearance at the league tournament proved the culprit as Tennessee (42-10) fell a pair of spots to ninth. Arizona (41-13) rounded out the top 10 following its series loss to the top-rated Ducks.

Former-No. 24 Texas A&M was the lone team to drop out of this week’s rankings. That opened the door for the entrance of Colonial Athletic Association champion James Madison in the No. 25 slot.

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Current 2014 records are shown, first-place votes are in parentheses.

 

USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Poll – Week 14 – May 13, 2014

Rank	Team	2014 Record	Totals	Last Poll Rank
1	Oregon (29)	49-7-1	797	1
2	UCLA (3)	48-6	766	2
3	Florida State	50-6	702	4
4	Arizona State	44-10-1	680	3
5	Alabama	45-11	655	6
6	Florida	45-11	637	5
7	Georgia	45-12	629	11
8	Washington	33-13	555	8
9	Tennessee	42-10	539	7
10	Arizona	41-13	490	9
11	Louisiana Lafayette	44-8-1	464	12
12	Oklahoma	45-10	457	13
13	Michigan	42-12	406	10
14	Minnesota	41-9	395	15
15	Kentucky	44-15	384	16
16	Missouri	41-16	326	14
17	Baylor	42-13	306	17
18	Tulsa	50-7	272	19
19	Nebraska	40-15	218	18
20	Notre Dame	39-11	190	20
21	Auburn	39-17-1	138	22
22	South Alabama	40-12	126	23
23	LSU	35-22	69	25
24	USC Upstate	45-7	63	21
25	James Madison	44-13	42	RV

 

Dropped Out:  No. 24 Texas A&M (35-20)

 

Others Receiving Votes:  Texas A&M (35), DePaul (27), UCF (11), Wisconsin (11), Northwestern (8), Louisville (1), Mississippi State (1).