UCLA is the new No. 1 team in college softball after a perfect week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – UCLA took over the No. 1 spot from Florida State in this week’s 2019 USA Today / NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Bruins (22-1), who have been No. 2 for the first five polls, received 27 first-place votes and 795 points.

UCLA enjoyed a 5-0 week co-hosting the UCLA/Long Beach Invitational. The Bruins opened with three home wins over Robert Morris (11-0), BYU (8-2) and Liberty (4-3). On the final day, they topped Boston University, 12-0 and co-host Long Beach State, 5-3 in eight innings. UCLA hits the road for the opening weekend of Pac-12 play, taking on No. 5 Washington in Seattle.

Oklahoma shifted up a spot to No. 2 this week. The Sooners (20-2) extended their winning streak to 10 games with five home triumphs, including two over RV Northwestern and one over RV Drake.

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The Seminoles (25-2) slipped to No. 3 after suffering their first two losses of 2019. The defending champs split a doubleheader at Grand Canyon, dropping the opener, 5-3 before rebounding with an 11-1 victory. In a three-game series at No. 12 Arizona, FSU took games one and three from the Wildcats, 5-3 and 4-3.

The lone undefeated team in the top 25, Alabama, moved up another position to No. 4 winning all five games at home. The Crimson Tide (25-0) knocked South Alabama and Mississippi Valley State before sweeping Missouri in their opening SEC series.

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Washington returned to No. 5 as it blanked the opposition over a six-game stretch last week. Huskie pitchers did not allow a single run in 39 innings of work and extended their shutout streak to seven games. Washington (22-3) kept RV Ohio State, North Illinois twice, Idaho State twice and Seattle off the scoreboard.

Gabbie Plain threw her second consecutive no-hitter today, the first Husky EVER with back-to-back no-hitters!#GoHuskies // #MightyAreTheWomen pic.twitter.com/YQAEa1ow0o

— Washington Softball (@UWSoftball) March 11, 2019

Tennessee also shifted up one spot to No. 6 after taking two-of-three from then-No. 4 Florida in Gainesville. The Lady Vols (18-3) captured the first two contests, 9-1 and 3-0 before the Gators (22-4) picked up a win the SEC series finale. With the two defeats, UF fell to No. 7 this week.

📸 #NCAASoftball Photo of the Week@iowasoftball junior DoniRae Mayhew stretches out for a ball in the Hawkeyes' 12-0 win over Green Bay. She got the runner out to end the inning. pic.twitter.com/O5iQsPdVbw

— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) March 11, 2019

Georgia remained at No. 8 following a 5-1 week. The Bulldogs (23-3) thumped Georgia Tech, 16-4, on the road before returning home for the UGA Classic. Georgia defeated Bowling Green twice, Elon and Western Illinois, but did drop one to the Phoenix.

No. 9 LSU took two-of-three from RV Texas A&M in College Station and finished the week, 3-1. The Tigers (21-5) picked up a mid-week road win at Northwestern State and opened with two triumphs over the Aggies (17-3 / 7-0) but fell in the finale, 6-5.

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No. 10 Louisiana returns to the top-10. The Ragin’ Cajuns (18-3) swept their Sun Belt-opening series at Texas State by the scores for 6-1, 5-3 and 7-4.

No. 24 Boise State is the only newcomer this week. One of the hottest teams in the country, the Broncos (18-2) have won a program-record 17 straight and enter the NFCA’s top 25 for the first time in their history. Boise State knocked off Sacramento State twice, host Pacific, and Fairleigh Dickinson at the Louisville Slugger Tournament in Stockton, Calif.

The 2019 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. The records reflect games played through March 10, 2019.