Oklahoma Sooners ranked No. 1 in D1Softball’s 2024 preseason poll
It’s Oklahoma’s world and the rest of the softball world is just living in it. The Sooners are coming off a 61-1 record, a 53-game winning streak and winning their third straight national championship.
With us being just a few weeks away from the start of the softball season, preseason polls are starting to come out. Surprise, there has been a unanimous No. 1 team so far.
But how does the rest of the top 10 shape up? Where does a team like Stanford that gave Oklahoma fits with freshman pitcher NiJaree Canady rank? What about a usual powerhouse UCLA? Let’s take a look at where D1Softball ranks these teams.
Washington Huskies
The Washington Huskies are one of five teams in the top 10 that played in the Women’s College World Series last season. They finished with a 44-15 record a year ago. They also return three of their four pitchers from a season ago.
UCLA Bruins
UCLA finished the season a year ago 52-7 and looked like the team that was going to be able to challenge the Sooners. But they were bounced in their regional in a surprising fashion going 0-2. They return four of their top five hitters from last season but lose all four pitchers.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke had a great season a year ago. They finished 48-12 before losing to Stanford in the Super Regionals. They open their season with Oklahoma. But they return key cogs in their offense. Ana Gold and Aminah Vega will help anchor the Blue Devils’ lineup.
Clemson Tigers
What a year Clemson and Valerie Cagle had last year! They finished 49-12 and ultimately lost to the Sooners in the Super Regional. They came very close to ending the winning streak. Cagle returns this season as does several key pieces.
Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia comes in next after they went 42-15 last year and lost in the Super Regional to Florida State. They return their top two hitters from a year ago in Sydney Kuma and Jayda Kearney. They also return their top two pitchers.
Texas Longhorns
Texas has been one of the better teams in the country for a while now. They finished 45-15-1 a season ago ultimately falling to Tennessee in the Super Regionals. They return their top two hitters Mia Scott and Ashton Maloney. They also return all four of their pitchers from 2023.
Florida State Seminoles
There might not be a program that has suffered more from Oklahoma’s dominance than Florida State. During this three-peat, the Seminoles have lost two WCWS finals against the Sooners including last season. They return their top two hitters but lose Kathryn Sandercock, arguably their best pitcher a season ago.
Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee was one of the more fun teams to watch in 2023. They went 51-10 before their season ended at the WCWS. Kiki Milloy had a monster season a year ago and she returns this season along with Zaida Puna.
Stanford Cardinals
If Stanford could have just gotten some offensive production, they might have been national champs a season ago. They lost to the Sooners twice in the WCWS but no one contained the Sooners offense like NiJaree Canady. She held the Sooners to six total runs, and one of those games went to extra innings. The only issue is they only scored two runs in those games. The addition of All-American infielder Taryn Kern provides a boost to the Cardinal who will be a force in 2024.
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are coming into this season looking to do something that has never been done in the sport: win four straight national titles. They’ll have a great chance to do that as they are only replacing Grace Lyons and Haley Lee from their starting lineup.
Lyons is a big loss because she’s arguably the greatest shortstop in college softball history. They also have to replace Jordy Bahl, who transferred to Nebraska, and Alex Storako, who graduated.
But if they can find some consistent pitching with some of their young players stepping up, it’ll be hard to stop them from getting another ring.
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