AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas softball team (47-22-1) was rewarded for its magical postseason run to the WCWS Championship Series by finishing as the No. 2 best program overall in the final release of USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association survey released Tuesday morning.
Prior to the 2022 campaign, the highest the Longhorns had finished in the final NFCA Top 25 was No. 3 after the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and in 2013 after reaching the WCWS semifinals. . Texas completed the abbreviated 2020 campaign at No. 1 in the final release of the Softball America poll.
National champion Oklahoma went front-to-back at No. 1 this season followed by Texas, UCLA, Oklahoma State and Florida. Northwestern, Arizona, Oregon State, Arkansas and Virginia Tech rounded out the final top 10. During the 2022 season, UT recorded wins over five of the top 10 final teams, including No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Arizona and No. 9 Arkansas.
It was a historic run for the 2022 Longhorns as Burnt Orange & White posted an overall record of 47-22-1 and became the first unseeded team to make it to the WCWS Championship Series. Along the way, the Texas offense again proved prolific, leading the nation in doubles (116) while setting single-season school records for doubles, runs scored (397), hits (560), total bases (906), runs RBIs (355), walks (224) and games played (70). UT rallied back to an impressive 18 wins from behind, posting 14 total wins over ranked teams and winning its first six elimination games during its postseason run through the NCAA Seattle Regional, NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional and the Women’s College World Series.
Individually, Texas had two NFCA All-Americans at senior second base Jane Jefferson (became only the second four-time All-American in Texas program history) and senior pitcher hailey dolcini. UT also had four NFCA All-Central Region selections (Jefferson, Dolcini, senior catcher/first baseman Mary Iakopofreshman third baseman mia scott) and tied a program record with seven players on the various All-Big 12 Conference teams (Jefferson, Dolcini, Iakopo, Scott, sophomore shortstop alyssa washingtoncatcher/first baseman katie cimuszfreshman pitcher sofia simpson).
2022 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll: June 14 (final)
|
Range
|
School (First Place Votes)
|
Points
|
record 2022
|
Previous Classification
|
|
1
|
Oklahoma (31)
|
800
|
59-3
|
1
|
|
two
|
Texas
|
766
|
47-22-1
|
sixteen
|
|
3
|
University of California at Los Angeles
|
725
|
51-10
|
5
|
|
4
|
oklahoma state
|
716
|
48-14
|
6
|
|
5
|
Florida
|
657
|
49-19
|
12
|
|
6
|
Northwest
|
625
|
45-13
|
10
|
|
7
|
Arizona
|
591
|
39-22
|
|
|
8
|
State of Oregon
|
552
|
39-22
|
|
|
9
|
Arkansas
|
535
|
48-11
|
4
|
|
10
|
Virginia Tech
|
517
|
46-10
|
3
|
|
eleven
|
arizona state
|
482
|
43-11
|
8
|
|
12
|
Duke
|
424
|
44-11
|
9
|
|
13
|
florida state
|
390
|
54-7
|
two
|
|
14
|
UCF
|
362
|
46-12
|
18
|
|
fifteen
|
Washington
|
314
|
38-17
|
eleven
|
|
sixteen
|
Clemson
|
306
|
42-17
|
14
|
|
17
|
Alabama
|
275
|
44-13
|
7
|
|
18
|
Stanford
|
264
|
39-22
|
trailer
|
|
19
|
mississippi state
|
250
|
37-27
|
|
|
twenty
|
Tennessee
|
215
|
41-18
|
13
|
|
twenty-one
|
Kentucky
|
200
|
37-19
|
fifteen
|
|
22
|
Georgia
|
130
|
40-16
|
19
|
|
23
|
Missouri
|
104
|
35-20
|
twenty
|
|
24
|
Chestnut
|
67
|
40-17
|
17
|
|
25
|
Oregon
|
52
|
33-19
|
23
|
New to the survey: No. 7 Arizona, No. 8 Oregon State, No. 18 Stanford, No. 19 Mississippi State
Abandoned: No. 21 Notre Dame, No. 22 LSU, No. 24 Michigan, No. 25 Nebraska
Reception of votes: Michigan (24), Notre Dame (14), Nebraska (12), LSU (11), Louisiana (9), San Diego State (7), Ole Miss (4).
