The annual Judi Garman Classic at Cal State Fullerton gets underway today (with the exception of last night's opening UCLA-Florida contest). Top squads in the 14-team field include UCLA, Florida, Washington (ranked No. 5 or 6 in the national polls), and Tennessee (ranked No. 7).

In a scheduling oddity (to me at least), Florida travels to Fullerton, California to play UCLA tonight. The two teams will then play each other again Friday in the Judi Garman Classic in the same location. The latest ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today /NFCA polls agree in ranking UCLA ( 14-0 ) No. 2 nationally, and Florida ( 18-0 ) No. 3. (Flo Softball's website lists old rankings.) UPDATE. Tonight's Round 1 of the Florida-UCLA match-up goes to the Bruins , 7-1.

The marquee match-up of this year's Mary Nutter Classic pitted UCLA (No. 2/3 nationally depending on which poll) vs. Oklahoma (No. 2/4 in different polls). The result was a 7-1 Bruin win . Texas Tech, this year's up-and-coming program after seven years being unranked, acquitted itself well at the Nutter (full disclosure: I'm on the Texas Tech faculty). The Red Raiders raised their record to 13-0 with wins in their first three games, including shutouts of Top 20 clubs Arizona State  and Oregon . However, Texas Tech's success against Pac-12 opponents came to an end on the final day, with a 4-1 loss to No. 5/6 Washington.

The annual Mary Nutter Classic begins today in Cathedral City, California, near Palm Springs. The field includes 28 collegiate teams and three non-collegiate squads (Team Japan, ScrapYard Fastpitch, and National Pro Fastpitch [NPF] All-Stars). Among the college teams, the three headliners are  UCLA (ranked No. 2 or 3 in each of the three national polls), Oklahoma (ranked No. 2 or 4), and Washington (ranked No. 5 or 6). The Bruins and Sooners will face each other Friday at 6:00 pm Pacific. The school at which I teach, Texas Tech, is ranked No. 23 and 25 in two of the polls -- the Red Raiders' first appearance in the rankings in seven years -- and will be participating in the Mary Nutter Classic. The Red Raiders are 10-0 on the season and have wins over Auburn, Wisconsin, and Nebraska (twice). These have all been NCAA tournament-caliber teams in recent years. Tech will face a challenging set of games in Cathedral City, including against ranked Pac-12 teams Arizona State, Orego...

No. 1/2 Florida State (depending on which poll) continues to impress, going undefeated at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite tournament. The Seminoles' weekend included wins over No. 2/3  Oklahoma , No. 6/7  Tennessee , and No. 5/7/8 LSU . No. 9/11/12 Texas, which won three of four in the Elite (losing to LSU), looks to be an up-and-coming team. Two former Oregon stars, pitcher Miranda Elish (rhymes with relish) and utility/designated-player Lauren Burke, followed coach Mike White to Austin, boosting the Longhorns' chances. Both were granted waivers by Oregon, so can play without sitting out a year .

A newcomer to the college softball tournament landscape, the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite debuts this weekend, with extensive television coverage on the ESPN Family of Networks. The 16-team field includes 12 squads ranked in the Top 25 of at least one major poll (USA Softball/ESPN.com, NFCA/USA Today, Flo Softball). Florida State is either No. 1 or 2 in each poll, whereas Oklahoma is either No. 2 or 3. Tennessee and LSU fall within the No. 5-10 range, whereas Texas is on the edge of the Top 10. Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Oregon, Ohio State, Notre Dame, James Madison, and Minnesota are ranked anywhere from No. 16-25 in at least one poll.

The 2019 college softball season is now underway, with the usual myriad of tournaments. Two of the three preseason polls place defending national champion Florida State in the top spot, as shown in the following table. Rank USA Softball/ESPN NFCA/USA Today Flo Softball 1 UCLA Florida State Florida State 2 Washington UCLA Oklahoma 3 Florida State Washington Washington 4 Oklahoma Oklahoma UCLA 5 Florida Florida Florida 6 Arizona Georgia Arizona 7 Georgia Arizona South Carolina 8 Tennessee Tennessee Georgia 9 South Carolina Alabama (Tie-9) Tennessee 10 LSU S. Carolina (Tie-9) Michigan One o...