Contributed
(Jan. 28, 2010)

BIRMINGHAM — The 2010 softball preseason polls have been released and the Southeastern Conference has five teams ranked in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.  Three teams, Alabama, Florida and Georgia, enter in the Top 10.  The Crimson Tide (54-11) leads the way for the SEC with a No. 2 ranking in both polls.  National runner-up, the Florida Gators (63-5) were ranked No. 3 by the coaches and No. 5 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.  The Georgia Bulldogs (47-12), who also participated in the WCWS are ranked No. 7 and No. 8, in the respective polls.

Finishing out the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll, Tennessee (40-18-1) is ranked No. 16, while LSU (34-18-1) is ranked No. 18.  In the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, the Tigers are ranked No. 13 and the Lady Vols are ranked No. 18.

The SEC also had three teams receive votes: Kentucky, who made their first ever apperance to the NCAA Tournament in 2009, Auburn and Mississippi State.

Among the conferences, the Pac-10 leads with six teams, followed by the SEC with five. The Big Ten and Big 12 have three teams each.

The 2010 softball season begins Feb. 11.  SEC action is slated to begin March 9.                 

USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll

Rank      Team                     ‘09 Record           Last Poll

1              Washington (30)   51-12                     1

2              Alabama               54-11                     3

3              Florida                  63-5                       2

4              Michigan              47-12                     6

5              Arizona St.          47-19                     5

6              Arizona                46-17                     7

7              Georgia                 47-12                     4

8              UCLA                  45-11                     9

9              Missouri               50-12                     8

10           Stanford                 48-11                     10

11           Oklahoma           41-16                     16

12           California             38-20                     11

13           Georgia Tech        46-15                     13

14           Ohio St.                 47-11                     12

15           Northwestern        31-15                     18

16           Tennessee            40-18-1                 20

17           Baylor                   40-22                     15

18           LSU                        34-18-1                 19

19           North Carolina        47-13                     17

20           Massachusetts         41-10                     14

21           DePaul                  39-14                     23

22           Louisville              48-11                     RV

23           Florida St.            44-16                     22

24           La.-Lafayette     45-13                     25

25           Fresno St.            38-20                     RV

Others Receiving Votes:

North Dakota St. 44, Jacksonville St. 38, Cal Poly 37, Nevada 31, Nebraska 28, Texas 23, Notre Dame 21, Cal St. Fullerton 17, San Diego St. 15, Iowa 11, Kentucky 11, Purdue 10, Hawaii 8, Mississippi St. 7, Southern Illinois 7, Cal St. Northridge 6, Texas A&M 6, Tulsa 6, Creighton 4, BYU 3, Houston 3, Oklahoma St. 3

ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Top 25 Poll

Rank      Team                     ‘09 Record           Last Poll

1.            Washington (17)      51-12                     1

2.            Alabama (1)              54-11                    3

3.            Michigan                    47-12                   5

4.            Arizona (1)                 46-17                   7

5.            Florida                         63-5                     2

6.            UCLA (1)                   45-11                   10

7.            Arizona State             47-19                     6

8.            Georgia                       47-12                     4

9.            Missouri                      50-12                     8

10.          Oklahoma                   41-16                     17

11.          California                    38-20                     12

12.          Stanford                       48-11                     9

13.          LSU                             34-18-1                 19

14.          Georgia Tech             46-15                     13

15.          Baylor                         40-22                     15

16.          Ohio State                   47-11                     11

17.          Northwestern             31-15                     20

18.          Tennessee                  40-18-1                 16

19.          Florida State               44-16                     25

20.          DePaul                        39-14                     23

21.          Louisville                   48-11                     24

22.          North Carolina            47-13                     22

23.          ULL                            45-13                     RV

24.          Fresno State                38-20                     RV

25.          UMass                         41-10                     14

Dropped Out: Jacksonville State and North Dakota State

Others receiving votes:  Kentucky (26), Jacksonville State (17), Auburn (14), North Dakota State (14), Nevada (12), Oregon (11), Oklahoma State (10), Texas (8), Cal Poly (7), Notre Dame (7), Nebraska (6), Texas A&M (5), Ball State (4), BYU (4), San Diego State (4), Long Beach State (3), Purdue (2), New Mexico State (1), Virginia Tech (1) and Western Michigan (1).