Five Pac-12 softball teams on ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll

SAN FRANCISCO - Five Pac-12 softball teams are ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 preseason polling, with two squads garnering at least one first-place vote, as announced by ASA/USA Softball this morning. Seven Pac-12 teams overall are receiving votes. 

OREGON leads the pack at No. 2, earning four first-place nods for 475 total points. The Ducks set a program record last year with 56 wins and advanced to the national semifinal at the Women’s College World Series. UCLA picked up a first-place vote and weighs in at sixth, climbing three spots from their finish in last year’s final polling where they came in at ninth. 

ARIZONA comes in at No. 12 in the poll, followed directly by WASHINGTON at No. 13. Both teams advanced to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament last season. ARIZONA STATE rounds out the Pac-12 teams in the top 25, and is ranked 16th. CALIFORNIA and STANFORD both are receiving votes. 

Following a tradition of excellence in collegiate softball, this marks the 10th-straight year that the Pac-12 has had at least five teams ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll, dating back to the first-ever polling in 2006. The poll is voted on by coaching representatives of nine Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA/USA Softball regions as well as members of the national and local media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country. 

The 2015 Pac-12 softball season launches on Thursday, Feb. 5. For more information, including a complete schedule, visit www.pac-12.com.