To the surprise of no one, the Oklahoma Sooners were unanimously voted the No. 1 team in the nation in the ESPN/USA Softball poll as voted on by coaches across the sport.
Oklahoma has now spent more than a year atop the rankings after being selected the preseason No. 1 team prior to 2022. The Sooners will open the year with No. 19 Duke and play No. 14 Stanford and No. 16 Washington in the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, Calif. on February 9.
They’ll play a total of nine teams ranked in the preseason top 25, including No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Oklahoma State, and No. 4 Florida State.
The two-time defending national champions are the prohibitive favorite despite losing all-time home run leader Jocelyn Alo. They boast an incredibly deep lineup, which includes the last two national freshmen of the year in Tiare Jennings and Cydney Sanders. Their pitching staff is deep with returning All-American Jordy Bahl and transfer addition Alex Storako, who logged 200 innings and 300 strikeouts in 2022.
Here’s a look at the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason top 25.