Six Big 12 softball squads are ranked in both the 2012 USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Polls. It's the first time since 2006 the league has placed six teams in each poll to open the season. It also marks the first time in four years the Conference has had three teams in the preseason top 10 for either poll.
Missouri, the 2012 Big 12 coaches preseason favorite, garnered its highest preseason ranking, coming in fifth in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. The Tigers earned a sixth-place nod in the USA Today/NFCA poll. Following MU, Oklahoma captured the sixth spot in ESPN.com/USA Softball and placed ahead of Mizzou in the USA Today/NFCA poll at No. 5. It is the fourth time in five years the Sooners have opened the season in the top 10.
Baylor followed in both polls, coming in seventh, rounding out the top 10 for the league. Oklahoma State came in at No.16/11, Texas A&M at No. 15/17, and Texas concluded the Conference's squads in the preseason rankings at No. 19/18. Texas Tech received votes in both polls.
The Big 12 accounted for half of the eight-team field at the Women's College World Series last year with Baylor, Missouri, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State advancing. Three of the four teams found spots in the preseason top 10, with Oklahoma State being the exception.
The league boasts the second-most squads in the polls with six, following the Pac-12 who has seven.
The Big 12 softball season opens the weekend of Feb. 9-12, with seven Big 12 squads beginning non-conference action.
USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 ESPN.com/USA Softball
Preseason (First place votes) Preseason (First place votes)
1.
|
Arizona State (30)
|
|
1. |
Arizona State (19)
|
| 2. |
Florida
|
|
2. |
Alabama
|
| 3. |
Alabama |
|
3. |
California |
| 4. |
California |
|
4. |
Florida (1)
|
| 5. |
OKLAHOMA |
|
5. |
MISSOURI |
| 6. |
MISSOURI |
|
6. |
OKLAHOMA |
| 7. |
BAYLOR |
|
7. |
BAYLOR |
| 8. |
Arizona |
|
8. |
Arizona |
| 9. |
Stanford |
|
9. |
Tennessee |
| 10. |
Georgia |
|
10. |
Stanford |
| 11. |
OKLAHOMA STATE
|
|
11. |
Oregon |
| 12. |
Washington |
|
12. |
Georgia |
| 13. |
Kentucky |
|
13. |
UCLA |
| 14. |
Tennessee |
|
14. |
Washington |
| 15. |
Michigan |
|
15. |
TEXAS A&M
|
| 16. |
Oregon |
|
16. |
OKLAHOMA STATE
|
| 17. |
TEXAS A&M
|
|
|
Michigan |
| 18. |
TEXAS |
|
18. |
Kentucky |
| 19. |
UCLA |
|
19. |
TEXAS |
| 20. |
Houston
|
|
20. |
LSU
|
| 21. |
Nebraska
|
|
|
Nebraska |
| 22. |
LSU |
|
22. |
Houston |
| 23. |
UL-Lafayette |
|
23. |
Georgia Tech
|
| 24. |
Tulsa
|
|
24. |
UL-Lafayette
|
| 25. |
Louisville |
|
25. |
Notre Dame
|
Others Receiving Votes: Texas Tech (5) Others Receiving Votes: Texas Tech (6)