Kentucky Ranked No. 17 in USA Today/NFCA Preseason Poll
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky softball team will begin the season ranked No. 17 in the nation, it was announced on Tuesday morning in the preseason release of the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association top-25 poll. The Wildcats finished the 2017 season as the No. 17 team in the poll, as well.
Coming off its fifth super regional appearance in the last seven seasons, Kentucky received 300 total points in the poll and was one of eight teams from the Southeastern Conference to be featured in the top-20. There are a total of nine SEC teams in the top-25 with the other four teams in the league receiving votes.
Women’s College World Series champions Oklahoma took the top spot with 31 of the 32 first-place votes, with the other going to second-ranked Florida. Florida is the highest-ranked SEC team, with Texas A&M (6) and LSU (8) both in the top 10.
Kentucky’s challenging schedule is proved true in the preseason polling, as the Wildcats are scheduled to play 22 games against teams the currently construct the top-25, including nine games against preseason top-10 teams.
The Wildcats begin the season on Feb. 10 in a doubleheader at New Mexico State beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
2018 USA Today/NFCA Preseason Top-25
1. Oklahoma (31)
2. Florida (1)
3. Oregon
4. Washington
5. UCLA
6. Texas A&M
7. Arizona
8. LSU
9. Florida State
10. Baylor
11. Alabama
12. Tennessee
13. Auburn
14. Ole Miss
15. Utah
16. Minnesota
17. Kentucky
18. Michigan
19. BYU
20. Tulsa
21. James Madison
22. Louisiana
23. Arizona State
24. Oklahoma State
25. Georgia
RV: Texas State (35), California (30), South Carolina (29), Mississippi State (17), Marshall (17), Missouri (15), North Dakota State (14), Florida International (14), Illinois (13), San Diego State (12), Notre Dame (12), Ohio State (9), St. Francis (Pa.) (7), North Carolina (4), Arkansas (2), Wisconsin (2), McNeese State (2), USC Upstate (1), Texas (1), Cal State Fullerton (1), Louisiana Tech (1), Fresno State (1).
For the latest on the Kentucky softball team, follow @UKSoftball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
