Oklahoma's stay atop the national rankings was a short one after losing two of three to then-No. 7 Florida on the final weekend of the regular season.
Arkansas was the new No. 1 in the latest Softball America Top 25, replacing the Sooners, who dropped down to No. 4. Oklahoma had moved into the No. 1 spot in the four major national rankings last week after registering a series sweep over then-No. 2 Texas.
Oklahoma drops in latest Softball America Top 25
The three other major college softball polls (NFCA Coaches Poll, D1 Softball and USA Softball) will release their rankings on Tuesday.
Despite having won an unprecedented four consecutive national championships, Oklahoma started the season No. 3 in preseason rankings, largely the result of losing six position players from the starting lineup, as well as three pitchers. The Sooners welcomed 13 newcomers to this year's roster, and a couple of weeks into the season, OU was back in the No. 1 perch in NCAA Division I softball.
The new top five, according to Softball America, were Arkansas, which moved up from No. 2, Texas A&M, Florida State, Oklahoma and Tennessee, respectively.
Arkansas (38-11, 14-10) won six of its eight SEC series this season, but was swept at home by Oklahoma back in March.
Eleven of 15 SEC teams are ranked this week in the Softball America Top 25, including six in the top seven.
Despite dropping two of three games to Florida, the Sooners still claimed the SEC regular-season championship and took the 1-seed into their first SEC Softball Tournament, which begins on Tuesday in Athens, Georgia.
By winning its first regular-season title as a member of the SEC, the Oklahoma softball program has won a conference championship in 12 of the last 13 seasons (excluding the 2019 pandemic year).
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