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Oklahoma softball: Sooners unanimous No. 1 to start 2023 season

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma players celebrate with the trophy after defeating Texas in the NCAA Women's College World Series softball finals at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Thursday, June 9, 2022. Oklahoma won the second game 10-5 to sweep Texas for the NCAA softball title.Wcws
Oklahoma players celebrate with the trophy after defeating Texas in the NCAA Women's College World Series softball finals at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Thursday, June 9, 2022. Oklahoma won the second game 10-5 to sweep Texas for the NCAA softball title.Wcws /
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The Oklahoma softball Sooners are a unanimous No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Top 25.

The two-time defending national champions received all 25 first-place votes and will begin the 2023 season as the country’s top-ranked team for the fourth time in program history (2017, 2018 and 2022 previously).

It is also the second straight year that Oklahoma is a unanimous choice in the No. 1 spot in the USA Softball Preseason Poll.

UCLA came in second in the preseason poll, and another Big 12 school, Oklahoma State, was third. You can see the complete poll results by clicking here.

This is the 16th consecutive year and 19th in the history of the USA Softball Preseason Top 25 that the Sooners have been ranked in the top-10 in the preseason poll.

This past week, Oklahoma was named to favorite to win the Big 12 by the league coaches. It was the 11th straight year and 14th in the last 15 that the Sooners have been voted No. 1 in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.

The Sooners are scheduled to meet nine of the schools who are ranked in the USA Softball Preseason Poll, including three on opening weekend (No. 14 Stanford, No. 16 Washington and No. 19 Duke) when OU participates Feb. 9-12 in the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, California. Also during the course of the season, Oklahoma will face No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Florida State.

The 2023 Oklahoma roster includes five returning All-Americans — P Jordy Bahl, CF Jayda Coleman, 2b Tiare Jennings, C/1B Kinzie Hansen and SS Grace Lyons — from an OU team that produced a record of 59-3, won its 10th straight Big 12 regular-season title and took home the national championship trophy from the Women’s College World Series for the second year in a row.

The voting in the USA Softball Preseason Poll is done by coaching representatives of the 11 Division I conferences in the 10 USA Softball regions and by media members who regularly cover college softball across the country.

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