Florida Softball Ranked No. 4 in USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll
Tuesday, January 21, 2014 | Softball
The Gator softball team will begin the 2014 campaign ranked No. 4 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll, announced Tuesday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Florida has been ranked in eight of nine preseason USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Polls under ninth-year head coach Tim Walton, and this year marks the Gators' fourth top-four preseason ranking, joining the 2009 (No. 1), 2010 (No. 3) and 2012 (No. 2) squads. The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Preseason Poll is scheduled to be released Jan. 28.
The Gators are scheduled to face against eight teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 preseason poll this year, including No. 1 Tennessee, No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 Alabama, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 14 Missouri, No. 15 Florida State, No. 17 LSU and No. 25 USF. In addition, Gator opponents Arkansas, Wisconsin, N.C. State and Auburn are receiving votes in the poll.
The Orange and Blue finished 2013 with a 58-9 record, leading the nation in wins. Florida captured its fourth SEC title with an 18-6 mark in conference play. The Gators earned their 14th NCAA Tournament bid in school history and played host to an NCAA Regional for the ninth straight year.
Florida enters the 2014 season just two victories shy of the program's 800th win. The Gators will look to their two returning All-Americans, senior pitcher Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) and junior pitcher/first baseman Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) to provide leadership on a squad that returns 14 letterwinners and welcomes four incoming freshmen and one junior college transfer.
UF will begin the 2014 season in Tampa, Fla., with a game against 25th-ranked USF on Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. ET, followed by five games in the Wilson-DeMarini Invitational. In this season-opening tournament, the Gators will face No. 5 Michigan and play two games against Wisconsin, which is receiving votes in the initial rankings. Florida's full 2014 schedule can be found on GatorZone.com.
Be sure to follow the Gators on Twitter and visit the team on Facebook for all the latest on Florida softball.
View the complete NFCA Top 25 Poll here.
| Rank | Team | 2013 Record | Totals | Final 2013 Poll | |||||
| 1 | Tennessee (7) | 52-12 | 729 | 2 |
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| 2 | Oklahoma (17) | 57-4 | 720 | 1 |
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| 3 | Washington (1) | 45-17 | 702 | 4 |
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| 4 | FLORIDA (6) | 58-9 | 684 | 5 |
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| 5 | Michigan (1) | 51-13 | 652 | 6 |
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| 6 | Alabama | 45-15 | 604 | 10 |
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| 7 | Arizona State | 50-12 | 593 | 7 |
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| 8 | Oregon | 50-11 | 576 | 9 |
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| 9 | Nebraska | 45-16 | 572 | 8 |
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| 10 | Texas | 51-10 | 532 | 3 |
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| 11 | Texas A&M | 42-18 | 383 | 13 |
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| 12 | Kentucky | 41-21 | 374 | 14 |
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| 13 | Louisiana Lafayette | 47-15 | 367 | 12 |
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| 14 | Missouri | 38-14 | 357 | 11 |
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| 15 | Florida State | 44-19 | 317 | 15 |
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| 16 | UCLA | 40-20 | 282 | 21 |
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| 17 | LSU | 42-16 | 269 | 18 |
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| 18 | Baylor | 42-17 | 244 | 20 |
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| 19 | Louisville | 48-13 | 235 | 19 |
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| 20 | South Alabama | 48-9 | 194 | 17 |
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| 21 | UAB | 40-19 | 181 | 16 |
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| 22 | Stanford | 39-21 | 164 | 22 |
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| 23 | Georgia | 40-21 | 149 | RV |
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| 24 | California | 38-19 | 125 | 23 |
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| 25 | USF | 45-16 | 98 | RV |
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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)
