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2017 Preseason Polls

Welcome to the College Softball Blog for the 2017 season, which begins this weekend. The blog, now in its 12th season, has a new look, which I hope you like!

Three preseason polls are out, the longstanding ones from ESPN/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA, plus one from a newcomer, Flo Softball (see links in the right-hand column). I have compiled the rankings and averaged them to get an overall impression. You may click on the following graphic to enlarge it.


Defending NCAA champion Oklahoma is ranked No. 1 in all three polls. Last year's runner-up Auburn is ranked No. 2 in the average of the three polls, followed by Florida State, Florida, and LSU.

Oklahoma and Auburn get right back on the diamond against each other, opening the season tomorrow in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at 1:00 Central (televised on ESPN U).

Another match-up of top teams will occur Saturday morning, as Florida and Michigan face off in the University of South Florida tournament.

A season preview by Graham Hays of ESPN-W is available here.

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