Mara Rudolph, Assistant Athletic Communications Director
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The California softball squad checks in at No. 24 in the preseason USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I Top 25 poll. Last season’s Women’s College World Series runner-up Tennessee tops the poll, followed by WCWS champion Oklahoma and Washington at No. 3.
The Bears are one of six Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 25, with the Huskies leading the way at No. 3. Arizona State (No. 7), Oregon (8), UCLA (16) and Stanford (22) are also ranked. Conference foes Arizona and Oregon State also received votes toward the rankings.
Aside from the Pac-12 schools, Cal will face two more opponents ranked in the preseason poll. The Bears are scheduled for meetings with No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 18 Baylor, both at the high-powered Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs from Feb. 21-23.
Cal welcomes back three 2013 NFCA All-Pacific Region honorees in juniors Danielle Henderson (first team) and Cheyenne Cordes (second team) and senior Victoria Jones (second team). Cordes was also an All-Pac-12 second-team selection while Jones and Henderson were All-Pac-12 honorable mentions. The Bears also added several new faces to the roster in the offseason, including standout pitcher Katie Sutherland-Finch from Glencoe High School in Oregon and 2013 Ms. Softball State Player of the Year Kylie Reed.
The Bears opened last season ranked No. 3 behind Oklahoma and Alabama and finished 2013 with a 38-19 (10-14 Pac-12) record, tying for fifth in the conference and advancing to NCAA Regional competition before falling to Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference.
