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Alabama Softball Ranked Top 8 Nationally; SEC Coaches Disagree

Team27 will have some old, some new, and a whole lot of unknown.

Rhoads.
rolltide.com

With less than two weeks until Alabama softball opening day, the national polls have come out. Along with them came the SEC Coaches Poll of how the conference will play out. And there seems to be a difference of opinion.

When it comes to the AFCA Coaches Polls complied for football in the fall, it is probably safe to say that most of them are filled out by someone other than the head coach. Conversely, the SEC Softball Coaches Poll opinions more likely come from each head coach.

In this poll, the conference coaches are not as high on the Crimson Tide as the national journalists are (coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team). Alabama has preseason national rankings of 6, 7, and 8. However the coaches think the Tide finishes fourth in the conference.

Rank d1softball ESPN/USA Softball Softball America SEC Coaches
1 Oklahoma Oklahoma (25) Oklahoma Florida
2 UCLA UCLA Oklahoma State Tennessee
3 Oklahoma State Oklahoma State Florida State Arkansas
4 Florida State Florida State UCLA Alabama
5 Florida Florida Florida LSU
6 Alabama Arkansas Northwestern Georgia
7 Northwestern Alabama Arkansas Kentucky
8 Arkansas Northwestern Alabama Missouri
9 Clemson Texas Texas Auburn
10 Georgia Clemson Clemson Ole Miss
11 Stanford Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Mississippi State
12 Tennessee Tennessee Georgia Texas A&M
13 Virginia Tech Georgia Tennessee South Carolina
14 Texas Stanford Arizona
15 UCF Arizona Duke
16 Kentucky Washington UCF
17 LSU Kentucky Washington
18 Arizona UCF Auburn
19 Auburn Duke Kentucky
20 Louisiana LSU Stanford
21 Washington Auburn Michigan
22 Duke Oregon Louisiana
23 Oregon Missouri Mississippi State
24 North Texas Louisiana Oregon State
25 Ole Miss Oregon State Arizona State

UPDATE: NFCA finally released their preseason poll on Jan. 31 and they place Bama at No. 9. They have Florida 4 and Arky 7.

OBSERVATIONS

  • Last year’s Bama squad began the season 2, 2, 3, and tops in the conference.
  • Of their 57 regular season games, Team27 will face nine teams who are ranked in at least two polls in 18 games this season: Arkansas (3 games), Auburn (3), Duke (1), Florida State (1), LSU (3), Tennessee (3), Texas (2), UCF (1), UCLA (1).
  • Mississippi State, Missouri, and Ole Miss (3 games each) are ranked in one poll.
  • In the three polls, Tennessee is ranked 12, 12, and 13. Yet, the SEC coaches see them as the second best team in the conference.
  • At 3, 3, and 2, Oklahoma State may have their highest preseason rankings ever. Hmm. I wonder if it is because of the transfers they brought in.

#RollTide #Team27

Poll

Alabama is the ___ team in the SEC.

This poll is closed

  • 19%
    #1
    (43 votes)
  • 18%
    #2
    (42 votes)
  • 29%
    #3
    (65 votes)
  • 11%
    #4
    (25 votes)
  • 21%
    #5 or lower
    (49 votes)
224 votes total Vote Now