Softball Earns No. 22 Ranking from Extra Inning Softball, 23 from NFCA/USA Today in Latest Release

ORLANDO, Fla. – The five major softball rankings publications on Monday and Tuesday released their updated top 25 rankings after the second week of the 2023 season, and the UCF Knights find themselves ranked as high as No. 22 in the nation following their 5-5 start.
 
The No. 22 ranking comes courtesy of Extra Inning Softball, which had pegged UCF at No. 14 in its week one poll. The NFCA/USA Today poll slotted the Knights in at No. 23 in the country after ranking UCF at No. 20 last week, and D1Softball.com and Softball America both have the Knights as the No. 24 team in the nation. The ESPN/USA Softball poll ranked UCF at No. 25.
 
UCLA was a consensus No. 1 pick for all polls after the previously-top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners fell to the Baylor Bears, 4-3, Sunday afternoon.
 
Seven of the Knights' 2023 opponents found themselves ranked within the top 25 of the NFCA/USA Today poll, including three in the top 10: UCLA (1), Florida (3) and Oklahoma State (4). Eleventh-ranked Alabama, 14th-ranked Duke, 17th-ranked Georgia, and 24th-ranked Missouri rounded out the top 25.
 
Softball America also ranked seven of the Knights' 2023 opponents within its updated top 25: No. 1 UCLA, No. 5 Florida, No. 6 Alabama, No. 9 Duke, No. 13 Georgia, No. 19 Texas A&M, and No. 23 Missouri.
 
D1Softball picked eight of UCF's opponents this season in its top 25, including UCLA at No. 1, Oklahoma State at No. 3, Alabama at No. 6, Duke at No. 13, Georgia at No. 14, Texas A&M at No. 19, and Missouri at No. 25.
 
Extra Inning Softball also ranked UCLA (1), Oklahoma State (3), Florida (4), Alabama (9), Duke (13), Georgia (16), Missouri (24), and Texas A&M (25) within its updated poll.
 
ESPN/USA Softball included seven of the Knights' 2023 opponents in its updated top 25 poll, including UCLA (1), Florida (3), Oklahoma State (4), Alabama (7), Duke (15), Georgia (16), and Missouri (21).