Rankings: The top 25 teams in the NCAA this week

March 29, 2023 ndowd

Texas is heating up right before a long-awaited Women’s College World Series rematch against Oklahoma.

The Longhorns extended their winning streak to seven games by sweeping Texas Tech and face the Sooners, college softball’s No. 1 team, for the first time since June, when OU swept Texas in the championship series for its second straight WCWS title.

Meanwhile, No. 2 Oklahoma State swept Baylor in a battle of ranked Big 12 opponents, rallying from five runs down Friday to win in an 11-inning thriller.

Key game last week: Texas A&M 14, Kentucky 13. The Aggies never gave up offensively, trailing by five runs twice and coming back both times. Down 11-6 after five innings, they scored two runs in the sixth and five in the seventh, with Keely Williams’ three-run homer breaking an 11-11 tie and putting the Aggies ahead for good.

Marquee game to watch: Texas vs. Oklahoma (Saturday, noon ET, ESPN2). The Sooners went 5-1 against the Longhorns in 2022, putting up 26 runs in the championship series. Oklahoma’s offense is balanced — five different players have at least 28 RBIs — and its pitching staff has 19 shutouts in 31 games. Texas is 30-5-1; each of its five losses has been by only one run.

Player to watch: Leighann Goode, Texas. The freshman second baseman has thrived in Mike White’s lineup, leading the Longhorns in batting average (.413), on-base percentage (.464) and slugging percentage (.698). She also ranks third in the country in hits (52). In Texas’ weekend sweep, Goode went 4-for-10 with a home run, her sixth of the season.

Play of the week: Alabama’s Jenna Johnson went full extension for this diving catch to seal the Crimson Tide’s 4-2 victory over No. 3 Tennessee on Saturday.

Here are the schools ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll (games as of March 27):

1. Oklahoma, 30-1 (25 first-place votes)
2. Oklahoma State, 29-2
3. Tennessee, 26-2
4. UCLA, 29-4
5. Clemson, 32-1
6. Stanford, 27-3
7. Florida State, 26-7
8. Texas, 30-5-1
9. Washington, 25-6
10. Georgia, 27-6
11. Arkansas, 24-9
12. LSU, 26-6
T-13. Florida, 24-7
T-13. Alabama, 24-10
T-13. Duke, 26-7
T-16. Kentucky, 20-7-1
T-16. Virginia Tech, 25-6
18. Oregon, 20-10
19. Utah, 21-5
20. Northwestern, 17-8
21. Texas A&M, 19-11
22. Baylor, 23-8
23. Auburn, 24-9
24. Arizona, 20-12
25. Louisiana, 23-10