Advertisement

Sooners No. 1: Updated look at D1Softball’s top 10 after opening week of action

John Williams
·5 min read

The opening week of softball action has come and gone. It was a great opening week of tournaments across the country. There were several surprises but a number of the top teams showed that they were indeed contenders to start the season.

Of the surprises, perhaps none was bigger than UCLA struggling with Maryland and San Diego while losing big to Texas and Oklahoma State in Southern California. The Bruins were bounced from the Los Angeles regional last May. Are they heading in the wrong direction as a program, or is this just an early-season funk.

Florida State dropped their opener to Charlotte, but responded well over their final four games of the week.

It’s just week one, but teams like Texas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma State made statements about their status as contenders in 2024.

The Oklahoma Sooners remained the No. 1 team in the nation in both D1Softball and Softball America’s latest top 25 rankings released on Monday.

Here’s a look at the top 10 teams in D1Softball’s top 25 and where they ranked according to Softball America.

Oklahoma Sooners (4-0)

Softball America Rank: 1

The Oklahoma Sooners picked up right where they left off with a 4-0 start to the season in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. The Sooners were tested by Washington, but still found a way to come out on top. True freshman Kasidi Pickering leads the Sooners in batting average and RBIs while Kelly Maxwell was dominant for Oklahoma in her opening week with the Sooners.

Texas Longhorns (5-0)

Softball America Rank: 2

If it weren’t for the Oklahoma Sooners dynasty, the Texas Longhorns might be ranked No. 1 in the nation. They had a great week in Southern California, beating UCLA twice and outscoring their opponents 64-5 in their five games to start the season.

Tennessee Volunteers (3-0)

Softball America Rank: 3

The Tennessee Volunteers started strong with a 15-0 win over UT-Arlington before beating Baylor twice by a combined score of 12-3.

Oklahoma State Cowgirls (5-0)

Softball America Rank: 10

Oklahoma State made a statement with a 9-1 win over the UCLA Bruins on the final day of the Lynn Russell Miller Classic. Tallen Edwards and Caroline Wang are both hitting .617 to start the season strong for the Cowgirls.

Georgia Bulldogs (5-0)

Softball America Rank: 4

The Georgia Bulldogs started the season 5-0 with a pair of notable wins over Purdue in their opening week.

Washington Huskies (3-1)

Softball America Rank: 8

It was a good weekend for the Huskies, who took the Sooner’s record winnings streak to the brink in an extra-innings loss on Friday night. They beat Nebraska 8-0 and picked up wins over Utah Valley and Iowa State to finish the weekend on a high note.

Duke Blue Devils (3-1)

Softball America Rank: 5

The Duke Blue Devils lost their opener to Oklahoma 3-0, but came back with three strong performances against Iowa State, Nebraska, and Long Beach State. They outscored their opponents 24-4 in their final three games in Puerto Vallarta.

Florida State Seminoles

Softball America Rank: 7

It was a rocky start to the season for Florida State, who dropped their opener to Charlotte in extra innings. They rebounded to finish the week on a four-game winning streak with wins over Charlotte, Texas Tech, and a pair of victories over Florida A&M. Offense wasn’t the problem as the Seminoles averaged 8.4 runs a game in their 4-1 start.

LSU Tigers (5-0)

Softball America Rank: 11

The LSU Tigers are 5-0 on the season and haven’t allowed a single run. Albeit the competition wasn’t staggering, but to not allow a run across 29 innings is pretty impressive to start the season.

Clemson Tigers (4-1)

Softball America Rank: 6

The Clemson Tigers picked up a top-25 win over Oregon in the NFCA leadoff classic but then fell to Missouri 4-1 to close out their weekend in Clearwater, Fla.

Story originally appeared on Sooners Wire