Alabama Softball Climbs into National Top Five in Week One Polls

After a 5-0 start on opening weekend, Alabama softball has moved up into the top five in both national polls, coming in at No. 5 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and No. 4 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, released Tuesday.

Alabama jumped ahead two spots in the NFCA poll and three spots in the USA Softball poll for its first top-five appearance of the season. Preseason No. 1 Oklahoma fell to No. 4/6 after a pair of losses on opening weekend as Florida claimed this week’s top spot in both polls. Auburn and Florida State are at No. 2 and 3, respectively, in both lists while UCLA sneaks in at No. 5 in the USA Softball poll.

Alabama is one of nine SEC schools ranked in this week’s top 25, the most of any conference. Ranked SEC teams include Florida (1/1), Auburn (2/2), Alabama (5/4), LSU (7/8), Georgia (12/12), Tennessee (15/14), Missouri (17/13), Texas A&M (19/17) and Kentucky (22/23). South Carolina and Ole Miss are both receiving votes outside the top 25.

This week, Alabama hosts South Alabama (5-0) on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. CT for its 2017 home opener before traveling to Lafayette, La., for a three-game series at No. 18/18 Louisiana-Lafayette (4-2) starting on Friday, Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. CT.