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Oklahoma the Runaway Preseason No. 1, as Sooners Seek Third Straight Title

Two-time defending Women's College World Series champion Oklahoma dominates the preseason polls, holding the No. 1 spot heading into the 2018 season. The Sooners captured all the first-place votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and all but one in the USA Today/NFCA poll.

As the above-linked article notes:

Oklahoma returns all nine of its 2017 All-Big 12 honorees from a squad that went 61-9 overall, 17-1 in the Big 12 and won the program's third national title in the last five years (fourth overall). Returning first-team All-Big 12 selections are junior infielder Shay Knighten, senior pitcher Paige Lowary, sophomore utility player Nicole Mendes (unanimous pick) and senior pitcher Paige Parker. Returning second-team All-Big 12 honorees are junior outfielder Falepolima Aviu, junior infielder Caleigh Clifton, senior outfielder Nicole Pendley and junior infielder Sydney Romero. Mendes and pitcher Mariah Lopez were members of the 2017 Big 12 All-Freshman Team.

Florida and Oregon hold the second and third positions, respectively, in both polls. UCLA and Washington round out the Top 5 in both polls, but in a different order. The Huskies are ranked fourth and the Bruins fifth by USA Today/NFCA, with the teams switching order in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.

The season begins three days from now with the annual Kajikawa Classic at Arizona State and other tournaments.

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