Washington extends hold on No. 1 in 2018 USA Today/NFCA DI Top 25 Coaches Poll
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following an 8-0 week, Washington extended its hold on No. 1 in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Huskies (18-0) received 29 first-place votes and 794 points as the top four spots remained the same.
UW opened its week with three road wins in the Lone Star State and continued with a perfect showing at the Mary Nutter Classic. The Huskies knocked off then-RV Notre Dame, then-No. 6 Texas A&M, RV Nebraska, Wisconsin and new No. 22 Long Beach State.
Florida, which received one first-place vote, edged out UCLA for the No. 2 spot by five points. The Gators (16-1) also went 8-0, notching all their victories at home. UF’s pitching staff posted five shutouts and limited their opponents to five runs. The third-ranked Bruins (15-0) also stayed undefeated and captured the final two first-place votes. UCLA capped off the Mary Nutter I with a 7-6 win over Grand Canyon before a perfect 5-0 showing at the Mary Nutter II, which included wins over RV Nebraska and then-No. 7 LSU.
No. 4 Oklahoma went 3-1 at the Mary Nutter. The Sooners (9-2) knocked off then-No. 17 Arizona State, BYU and North Carolina before dropping their closer to then-No. 13 Arizona.
After a 6-0 week at the Mary Nutter Classic, Tennessee catapulted six spots to No. 5. The Lady Vols (16-1) outscored their opponents, 42-5 and picked up two wins over Pac-12 foes, then-No. 5 Oregon and RV Oregon State.
No. 6 Oregon and No. 7 Texas A&M slipped a spot each, while undefeated Baylor remained at No. 8. The Ducks (12-3) and Aggies (12-2) each went 3-2 at the Mary Nutter, with Texas A&M earning a 3-1 win over Oregon. The Ducks loaded schedule included wins over then-No. 18 Oklahoma State and then-No. 7 LSU and a 1-0 loss to Tennessee.
Along with the win over the Ducks, the Aggies knocked off then-RV Notre Dame and then-No. 19 California. After its tournament was canceled, Baylor picked up two road wins at Abilene Christian to remain perfect at 9-0.
Arizona returned to the top-10 at No. 9. The Wildcats (13-1) were a perfect 5-0 at the Mary Nutter and capped off the weekend with a 2-0 win over No. 4 Oklahoma. Rounding out the top 10 is LSU, which fell to the No. 10 position after a 4-2 week. The Tigers (14-2) won their first four games of the week, but closed out with losses to UCLA and Oregon.
Making its first appearance this season is Long Beach State (12-3) at No. 22, while No. 23 McNeese State (13-3) returns after a one-week absence. Dropping out are then-No. 18 Oklahoma State and then-No. 24 Utah.
The 2018 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Records reflect games played through Feb. 25.
2018 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – Feb. 27 (Week 3)
Rank
School
Points
Record
Previous
1
Washington
794 (29)
18-0
1
2
Florida
755 (1)
16-1
2
3
UCLA
750 (2)
15-0
3
4
Oklahoma
653
9-2
4
5
Tennessee
617
16-1
11
6
Oregon
606
12-3
5
7
Texas A&M
603
12-2
6
8
Baylor
578
9-0
8
9
Arizona
558
13-1
13
10
LSU
555
14-2
7
11
Alabama
488
9-2
10
12
Auburn
415
17-2
12
13
Florida State
397
12-4
9
14
Georgia
387
13-1
14
15
California
324
15-1
19
16
Arizona State
309
13-2
17
17
Ole Miss
284
9-2
16
18
Louisiana
264
11-3
15
19
Ohio State
232
11-1
21
20
South Carolina
168
15-1
t24
21
Minnesota
151
10-4
22
22
Long Beach State
105
12-3
RV
23
McNeese State
75
13-3
RV
24
Kentucky
72
9-3
23
25
Michigan
58
8-6
20
New to Poll: No. 22 Long Beach State, No. 23 McNeese State
Dropped Out: No. 18 Oklahoma State, t-No. 24 Utah
Receiving Votes: Oklahoma State (46), USC Upstate (42), Mississippi State (39), Texas State (19), Arkansas (16), Nebraska (12), Utah (9), Oregon State (8), Colorado State (4), Louisville (4), James Madison (3).
The 2018 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches with one representing each of the NCAA’s Division I Conferences. Records reflect play through Feb. 25, 2018
Leave A Comment