Softball America projects Arizona as a top 10 team in preseason poll

The second preseason poll of the season is out for Division I softball and it’s much more confident about the Arizona Wildcats than the first poll was. Softball America released its poll on Tuesday morning. UA starts off just where it ended last season at No. 7.

Last Monday, D1 Softball released its rankings. That poll had Arizona at No. 15. It might be a more realistic view of the team given how much they lost after last season.

The Wildcats approach the season needing to replace a lot of production in the circle and the batters box. They lost seven players who had played at least five years of college softball after last season. This year, they will be relying on a lot of sophomores to do the heavy lifting.

The team has two super seniors, a grad transfer, and one redshirt junior on the roster this year. Most of the players who would be juniors or seniors this season transferred out when the super seniors returned last year.

The Wildcats join four other Pac-12 teams in the poll. UCLA (4), Washington (8), Oregon (17), and Arizona State (21) are also ranked. The Big XII’s Oklahoma is ranked No. 1.