LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The first USA Today/NFCA Top-25 Coaches Poll of the 2019 softball season was released on Tuesday morning. The Texas State Bobcats received 23 votes from the coaches in the preseason poll.

The preseason poll is headlined by defending national champion Florida State. The Seminoles enter the 2019 season as the favorites to repeat and garnered 21 of a possible 32 first-place votes and 780 total points. UCLA collected six first-place votes and 756 points for second, while Washington grabbed the remaining five first-place votes and 742 points in the third spot.

The Southeastern Conference dominated the polls, placing 11 teams inside the top-25 and six teams in the top-10. The Florida Gators are the league's top-ranked program at No. 5 in the preseason poll.

Texas State joins Louisiana as the lone Sun Belt Conference teams receiving votes in the poll. Louisiana claimed 336 points for the 15th in the coaches poll. The Bobcats are Cajuns are scheduled to open conference play with a three-game series starting on March 9 at Bobcat Softball Stadium.

The state of Texas was well represented in the poll, claiming a total of three teams holding onto a national rank and two more receiving votes. The Texas Longhorns, under new head coach Mike White, are the highest-ranked Lone Star team at No. 16. Baylor, a team the Bobcats will host on March 6, is ranked No. 18, while Texas A&M ranks No. 20. The Houston Cougars join the Bobcats in the receiving votes category with one point.

The 2019 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top-25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. The first regular season poll will be published on Feb. 12.

2019 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top-25 Coaches Poll - January 29 (Preseason)
1. Florida State (21) – 780
2. UCLA (6) – 756
3. Washington (5) – 742
4. Oklahoma – 696
5. Florida – 664
6. Georgia – 604
7. Arizona – 591
8. Tennessee – 571
t-9. Alabama – 453
t-9. South Carolina – 453
11. LSU – 446
12. Arizona State – 384
13. Kentucky – 379
14. Arkansas – 368
15. Louisiana – 336
16. Texas – 332
17. Auburn – 299
18. Baylor – 278
19. Michigan – 249
20. Texas A&M – 199
21. Minnesota – 124
22. Oklahoma State – 112
23. James Madison – 101
24. Mississippi State – 95
25. Oregon – 82

Receiving Votes: Long Beach State (69), Notre Dame (40), Liberty (30), TEXAS STATE (23), Northwestern (22), Ohio State (15), Hofstra (15), Cal State Fullerton (13), Drake (12), California (10), Missouri (9), Florida Gulf Coast (7), Oregon State (7), Boise State (4), McNeese State (3), Wichita State (2), Tulsa (1), Houston (1), Longwood (1), Ole Miss (1), USF (1).

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