Oklahoma softball: No. 1 Sooners have plenty of SEC company in Top 25
By Chip Rouse
The dynasty that is Oklahoma softball retains its No. 1 spot atop the polls this week -- a position the Sooners have intimately familiar with over the past three to four years -- but look who's looming right over their shoulder.
Big 12 and Red River rival Texas is ranked No. 2 in the country with a 12-1 record. Both the Sooners and Longhorns are on a farewell tour through the Big 12 this spring as they get set to leave that conference and become part of the SEC.
As you look through the teams that make up this week's edition of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25, it is pretty apparent that the three-time defending national champion Sooners are going to be tested a great deal more in the SEC than has been the case in the Big 12, where OU has won 15 of the 27 Big 12 regular-season championships and 11 in a row.
Twelve of the 14 schools in the SEC teams are currently represented among the nation's top 25 softball teams, and if you add OU and Texas, that would make 14 ranked teams. By comparison, other than the Sooners and Longhorns, only two Big 12 team -- No. 6 Oklahoma State (13-2) and No. 17 Baylor (8-3) are currently ranked.
Three SEC teams are ranked in the top 10 this week (five if you include OU and Texas), seven in the top 15 and 12 in the top 25. Similar to the Big 12 in basketball, you can expect a shakeup in these rankings as the season moves into conference play next month as all these SEC teams start playing each other. But what it does tell us is that there is a ton of softball talent in the SEC, and Oklahoma and Texas are sure to add to it.
It will be extremely interesting to see how many schools outside of the SEC win the Women's College World Series over the next decade and beyond.
Here is where the SEC stands in the top 25 in college softball for the week of Feb. 26:
3. Georgia (12-1)
4. LSU (13-0)
8. Tennessee (8-4)
11. Alabama (16-0)
13. Missouri (13-2)
14. Kentucky (11-2)
15. Florida (15-2)
16. Arkansas (13-3)
18. Texas A&M (14-1)
22. South Carolina (13-2)
23. Mississippi State (11-3)
25. Auburn (7-2-1)