ORLANDO – The USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll was released on Tuesday and the Knights pick up where they left off, checking in at No. 21.
The ranking marks the second highest UCF has ever received in the poll to begin the season as the Knights were ranked No. 17 headed into the 2016 campaign. UCF also received votes to begin the 2017 and 2015 seasons.
The Knights, who were predicted to finish first in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll in early January, are the sole AAC team to make an appearance in the top 25.
Before the conclusion of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 outbreak, head coach Cindy Ball-Malone led her Knights to a 21-5-1 overall record (.777 winning percentage) that included an 11-game winning streak from Feb. 14 through March 1. The Knights secured the best start in program history as they were off to a 16-2 record to start the year.
The Knights had matchups with 12 schools either receiving votes or ranked during the season, posting a 6-5-1 record against those opponents and a 9-4-1 record against non-conference Power6 opponents. In 27 games, UCF outscored opponents 156-64.
The Knights were also ranked No. 22 in the D1 Softball preseason poll and No. 25 in the USA Softball/ESPN preseason rankings.
The full USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll is below:
| Rank | School | Points | Final 2020 Record | Final 2020 Ranking |
| 1 | UCLA (32) | 800 | 25-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Washington | 748 | 23-2 | 2 |
| 3 | Arizona | 717 | 22-3 | 4 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 708 | 20-4 | 6 |
| 5 | LSU | 644 | 21-3 | 5 |
| 6 | Texas | 611 | 24-3 | 3 |
| 7 | Florida | 605 | 23-4 | 7 |
| 8 | Alabama | 588 | 14-8 | 10 |
| 9 | Louisiana | 565 | 18-6 | 8 |
| 10 | Oregon | 481 | 22-2 | 9 |
| 11 | Oklahoma State | 476 | 19-5 | 12 |
| 12 | Florida State | 403 | 17-7 | 12 |
| 13 | Kentucky | 359 | 20-4 | 11 |
| 14 | Georgia | 352 | 23-5 | 14 |
| 15 | Virginia Tech | 317 | 21-4 | 16 |
| 16 | Arizona State | 295 | 22-7 | 17 |
| 17 | Michigan | 264 | 15-8 | 18 |
| 18 | Arkansas | 244 | 19-6 | 19 |
| 19 | South Carolina | 227 | 17-6 | 15 |
| 20 | Mississippi State | 180 | 25-3 | 20 |
| 21 | UCF | 159 | 21-5-1 | 21 |
| 22 | Baylor | 147 | 19-5 | 23 |
| 23 | Missouri | 117 | 19-7 | 25 |
| 24 | Minnesota | 114 | 15-9-1 | 22 |
| 25 | Duke | 64 | 23-4 | RV |
Receiving Votes: Fresno State (62), Tennessee (54), Stanford (33), Utah (13), Cal State Fullerton (12), Clemson (9), North Texas (8), Texas Tech (8), Northwestern (7), James Madison (6), Liberty (1), Notre Dame (1), San Diego State (1),