OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The University of Washington remains No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 after the first week of collegiate action. Behind an undefeated performance at the Kajikawa Classic (Tempe, Ariz.), including three shutouts, the 2009 NCAA Champion Huskies (5-0) received all 20 first-place votes.
Arizona rose from No. 4 in the pre-season poll to claim the second spot with six wins including a 4-3 victory over then-No. 17 Northwestern, which is now at No. 22. Northwestern also lost to Nevada and Creighton last weekend at the Kajikawa Classic.
Michigan remained at No. 3 although they dropped a 6-4 contest to Georgia, now No. 6 after ranking No. 8 in the pre-season poll. UCLA jumped two spots to No. 4, despite a 4-3 loss to Michigan at Dot Richardson’s National Collegiate Softball Invitational (Clermont, Fla.). The Bruins defeated the new No. 6 Georgia and Tennessee, one of two teams that dropped out of the Top 25. DePaul also fell off the poll after dropping four games.
Alabama dropped from the No. 2 spot to 8th after two losses to No. 5 Missouri. Playing at home, the Tide fell 2-1 to the Tigers. Bama battled back for a 9-0 five-inning shutout but Missouri returned the favor, shutting out Alabama 9-0 in five innings the next day. Missouri was No. 9 last week.
Both Texas and Texas A&M entered the poll for the first time this season after strong weekend performances, taking No. 15 and No. 21 respectively.
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
February 16 – Week of Feb. 8-14
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Ranking Last Week |
| 1. | Washington (20) | 5-0 | 500 | 1 |
| 2. | Arizona | 6-0 | 472 | 4 |
| 3. | Michigan | 2-1 | 435 | 3 |
| 4. | UCLA | 3-1 | 425 | 6 |
| 5. | Missouri | 2-1 | 416 | 9 |
| 6. | Georgia | 3-1 | 401 | 8 |
| 7. | Arizona State | 5-1 | 372 | 7 |
| 8. | Alabama | 1-2 | 346 | 2 |
| T9 | Georgia Tech | 4-0 | 328 | 14 |
| T9 | Florida | 3-1 | 328 | 5 |
| 11. | California | 4-1 | 300 | 11 |
| 12. | Oklahoma | 2-1 | 247 | 10 |
| 13. | Stanford | 4-1 | 246 | 12 |
| 14. | Ohio State | 4-1 | 243 | 16 |
| 15. | Texas | 5-0 | 228 | RV |
| 16. | Louisville | 4-1 | 197 | 21 |
| 17. | LSU | 2-3 | 138 | 13 |
| 18. | ULL | 5-0 | 122 | 23 |
| 19. | Fresno State | 6-0 | 119 | 24 |
| 20. | Florida State | 4-1 | 107 | 19 |
| T21 | Northwestern | 2-3 | 78 | 17 |
| T21. | Texas A&M | 4-1 | 78 | RV |
| 23. | North Carolina | 2-3 | 55 | 22 |
| 24. | UMass | 4-1 | 51 | 25 |
| 25. | Baylor | 1-3 | 47 | 15 |
Parenthesis Denotes first place votes.
Dropped Out: Tennessee and DePaul
New to Poll: Texas and Texas A&M
Others receiving votes: Tennessee (45), San Diego State (41), Oklahoma State (36), Kentucky (27), DePaul (21), BYU (16), New Mexico State (12), Nevada (9), Cal Poly (6), Jacksonville State (5), Ball State (3).
