OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Fresno State and Nevada were both named to the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Top 25 today. The Bulldogs were selected as No. 12, while the Wolf Pack were tabbed No. 22. Meanwhile, Hawai?i received votes in the poll.
This is the highest preseason ranking the Bulldogs have earned from the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll since it began at the start of the 2006 season. Last year, the Bulldogs reached as high as No. 9 in the poll during the season and finished No. 15 in the top 25 final poll at the end of the season after posting a 54-13 record and advancing to the NCAA Fresno Regional Championship game.
Nevada is coming off a 44-18 season in 2008 as the Wolf Pack won
the WAC title and received an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.
The Wolf Pack returns 13 players, including seven who earned all-WAC
honors in 2008.
Last week, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) ranked Fresno State No. 14 and Nevada No. 23 in its preseason poll.
The complete poll is listed below.
2009 USA Softball Preseason Poll
Rank |
Team |
08 Record |
Pts |
Pvs |
| 1. |
Florida (18) |
70-5 |
497 |
3 |
| 2. |
Alabama |
58-8 |
466 |
4 |
| 3. |
Arizona State (1) |
66-3 |
432 |
1 |
| 4. |
UCLA (1) |
51-9 |
428 |
5 |
| 5. |
Michigan |
52-8 |
384 |
9 |
| 6. |
Oklahoma |
47-14 |
378 |
10 |
| 7. |
Arizona |
41-19 |
369 |
7 |
| 8. |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
52-15 |
364 |
6 |
| 9. |
Stanford |
49-15 |
321 |
13 |
| 10. |
Texas A&M |
57-10 |
309 |
2 |
| 11. |
Northwestern |
40-16 |
295 |
11 |
| 12. |
Fresno State |
54-13 |
252 |
15 |
| 13. |
Tennessee |
50-16 |
230 |
17 |
| 14. |
California |
43-27 |
203 |
14 |
| 15. |
Washington |
30-25-1 |
200 |
RV |
| 16. |
Houston |
54-11 |
188 |
12 |
| 17. |
LSU |
44-18 |
179 |
19 |
| 18. |
DePaul |
51-18 |
166 |
21 |
| 19. |
Missouri |
47-17 |
165 |
16 |
| 20. |
Long Beach St. |
42-16 |
120 |
22 |
| 21. |
North Carolina |
50-12-1 |
107 |
25 |
| 22. |
Nevada |
44-18 |
95 |
20 |
| 23. |
Georgia |
46-24 |
89 |
18 |
| 24. |
UMass |
42-12 |
86 |
23 |
| 25. |
Virginia Tech |
49-19 |
55 |
8 |
Others receiving votes: Mississippi State (20), San Diego State (19), Iowa (13), South Florida (12), Hawai?i (10), Purdue (7), Oregon State (5), Kansas (4), Nebraska (4), Notre Dame (4), Texas (4), Creighton (3), Georgia Tech (3), Hofstra (3), Baylor (2), East Carolina (2), Jacksonville State (2), Oklahoma State (2), Oregon (2) and BYU (1).