For the first time in program history, Oregon (34-5) has ascended to the No. 1 spot in the USA Today/NFCA Division I softball rankings.

The Ducks received 30 of 32 possible first-place votes following their impressive statement last weekend in Eugene, Ore., where they took two of three games from then top-ranked UCLA (34-4) in a high-profile Pacific-12 Conference series. UO opened the trio of match-ups by securing 9-7 and 12-4 (5 inn.) triumphs before the now No. 2 Bruins (retained two first-place nods) rebounded to nab the final game by a 6-1 count.

A mid-week shutout of then-No. 11 South Alabama and a sweep of Southeastern Conference foe Arkansas improved Alabama’s (35-5) winning streak to a season-high-tying nine games as the Crimson Tide improved a single position to third. Tennessee (32-5) dropped two slots to No. 4 after losing two of its three match-ups at unranked LSU, while a rout of Detroit and a Big Ten Conference home sweep of Ohio State allowed Michigan (29-6) to hold steady at No. 5.

Positions six through 10 in this week’s rankings remained largely unchanged as Florida (34-8), Arizona State (35-6) and Florida State (38-4) stayed in positions No. 6 through No. 8, respectively. A flip-flop of spots involving now ninth-rated Arizona (32-8) and 10th-ranked Washington (22-10) marked the lone alteration in the bottom half of the top 10.

With Stanford’s (24-14) exit from the poll, No. 24 USC Upstate (36-4) successfully re-entered the rankings for the first time since spending a single week among the top 25 over March 4-10.

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 9 – April 8, 2014

Rank	Team	2014 Record	Totals	Last Poll Rank
1	Oregon (30)	34-5	798	3
2	UCLA (2)	34-4	756	1
3	Alabama	35-5	735	4
4	Tennessee	32-5	684	2
5	Michigan	29-6	675	5
6	Florida	34-8	621	6
7	Arizona State	35-6	616	7
8	Florida State	38-4	606	8
9	Arizona	32-8	528	10
10	Washington	22-10	509	9
11	Kentucky	31-8	470	12
12	Baylor	28-6	436	13
13	Georgia	33-6	381	15
14	Minnesota	28-5	367	14
15	South Alabama	30-6	357	11
16	Missouri	27-10	323	16
17	Tulsa	35-4	306	17
18	Louisiana Lafayette	28-6-1	211	21
19	Oklahoma	28-8	206	22
20	Auburn	31-9-1	197	19
21	Texas A&M	27-12	188	18
22	Nebraska	26-12	183	20
23	Northwestern	22-9	77	23
24	USC Upstate	36-4	45	RV
25	Notre Dame	22-8	34	25

Dropped Out:  No. 24 Stanford (24-14)

Others Receiving Votes:  Stanford (19), James Madison (16), Houston (15), DePaul (12), LSU (12), Long Beach State (8), N.C. State (6), Hofstra (1), Louisville (1), USF (1).