Lady Cajuns Earn Second Preseason Top-Ten Ranking
Cajuns Earn Second Preseason Top-Ten Ranking
Written by: Sun Belt Conference
Release: 01/27/2009
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - USA Softball announced their 2009 Preseason Poll and Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns debuted at No. 8. The Cajuns are ranked in the top 10 in both preseason polls, as they are currently ranked No. 6 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll.
The Amateur Softball Association announced today the Florida Gators at No. 1 in the 2009 ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 pre-season Poll. A 2008 Women’s College World Series contender, the Gators return all but one starter from the 2008 squad and received 18 first-place votes this week. Led by the pitching efforts of senior Stacey Nelson, the Gators will look to their five returning All-Americans as they fight for a return trip to Oklahoma City.
Close behind Florida is SEC conference foe the University of Alabama at No. 2. The Crimson Tide also reached the WCWS in Oklahoma City, but fell short to the 2008 NCAA defending champion Arizona State who comes into the poll at No. 3 while also earning one first place vote.
Just four points behind the Sun Devils are Pac-10 rivals the UCLA Bruins at No. 4 who received one first-place vote and return 14 letterwinners from their 2008 WCWS team. Rounding out the top five is the University of Michigan at No. 5 while the Oklahoma Sooners land at No. 6 with the return of power hitter Samantha Ricketts and junior pitcher DJ Mathis.
No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette returns to the 2009 season with sophomore pitching ace Ashley Brignac while 2008 WCWS Final Series team Texas A&M rounds out the top ten at No. 10.
Making a large move from just receiving votes in the final 2008 poll is the University of Washington who is at No. 15 this week thanks to the return of Canadian Olympic pitcher Danielle Lawrie and senior shortstop Ashley Charters.
The top ten teams represent five conferences while 11 conferences are represented in the poll. The Pac-10 Conference leads with six teams overall and four schools in the top ten. The Southeastern Conference is second with five teams in the top 25 followed by the Big 12 with three teams. The Big Ten, WAC, and ACC each have two schools in the top 25 while the Sun Belt, Conference USA, the Big East, the Big West and the Atlantic 10 each have one school in the rankings.
The first regular season poll will be released Feb. 10 and will be released on a weekly basis throughout the softball season. The 2009 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List will be released tomorrow, Wednesday, January 28.
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
January 27 – Preseason Poll
Rank/Team/Points
1. Florida (18) 497
2. Alabama 466
3. Arizona State (1) 432
4. UCLA (1) 428
5. Michigan 384
6. Oklahoma 378
7. Arizona 369
8. Louisiana-Lafayette 364
9. Stanford 321
10. Texas A&M 309
11. Northwestern 295
12. Fresno State 252
13. Tennessee 230
14. California 203
15. Washington 200
16. Houston 188
17. LSU 179
18. DePaul 166
19. Missouri 165
20. Long Beach St. 120
21. North Carolina 107
22. Nevada 95
23. Georgia 89
24. UMass 86
25. Virginia Tech 55
Others receiving votes: Mississippi State (20), San Diego State (19), Iowa (13), South Florida (12), Hawaii (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).
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Lady Cajuns Earn Second Preseason Top-Ten Ranking
