Gators Ranked No. 1 in USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 | Softball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Coming off the program's first national championship, the University of Florida softball team will begin the 2015 campaign ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll; the preseason rankings were announced Tuesday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Entering his tenth season just eight wins shy of 500 at UF, Head Coach Tim Walton has the nation's preseason No. 1 team for the second time; the Gators also opened atop the rankings in 2009 following their record-setting 70-win campaign in 2008. Florida returns 14 letterwinners from last season and brings in a class of six freshmen.
The Gators are scheduled to face 10 teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 preseason poll this year. In addition, three Gator opponents are receiving votes in the poll.
UF will begin the 2015 season in Tampa, Fla., with five games at the USF Softball Classic, which runs Feb. 6-8. A clash with preseason No. 8 Michigan highlights the opening weekend. Florida's full 2015 schedule can be found on GatorZone.com.
The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Preseason Poll will be released next Tuesday.
Lauren Haeger and Florida are No. 1 in the USA Today/NFCA preseason poll. (Photo: Tim Casey)
2015 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll
First place votes in parentheses
2015 UF opponents in italics
| Rank | Team | 2014 Record | Points |
| 1 | FLORIDA (20) | 55-12 | 699 |
| 2 | Oregon (8) | 56-9-1 | 694 |
| 3 | Alabama | 53-13 | 648 |
| 4 | Oklahoma (1) | 51-13 | 613 |
| 5 | Florida State | 55-9 | 571 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 50-19 | 565 |
| 7 | UCLA | 52-8 | 536 |
| 8 | Michigan | 47-15 | 493 |
| 9 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 49-10-1 | 481 |
| 10 | Baylor | 49-16 | 475 |
| 11 | Washington | 37-15 | 411 |
| 12 | Georgia | 49-15 | 402 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 46-12 | 401 |
| 14 | Arizona | 44-16 | 356 |
| 15 | Minnesota | 44-12 | 298 |
| 16 | Arizona State | 46-12-1 | 267 |
| 17 | Missouri | 43-18 | 240 |
| 18 | Nebraska | 44-18 | 213 |
| 19 | LSU | 38-24 | 205 |
| 20 | Auburn | 42-19-1 | 204 |
| 21 | Tulsa | 53-9 | 175 |
| 22 | Notre Dame | 41-13 | 133 |
| 23 | South Alabama | 42-14 | 100 |
| 24 | Texas A&M | 37-22 | 71 |
| 25 | DePaul | 44-11 | 40 |
Others receiving votes:
James Madison (36), USC Upstate (21), Wisconsin (16), UCF (16), Texas (16), North Carolina State (14),
Northwestern (3), Stanford (3), South Carolina (3), Hofstra (2), Louisville (2), Cal State Fullerton (2).
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