Oklahoma softball will begin the season ranked No. 4.
The Sooners were slotted behind Florida State, UCLA and Washington in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. The rankings were released Tuesday morning.
OU has cracked the top-10 of the NFCA preseason poll for the ninth consecutive year. Oklahoma, Michigan, UCLA and Washington have been ranked in every preseason NFCA poll dating back to 1995.
Coach Patty Gasso's Sooners have won seven consecutive Big 12 championships, and OU is coming off its 12th Women's College World Series appearance.
The Sooners will be led by senior infielder Sydney Romero and sophomore utility player Jocelyn Alo, both of whom were named first team All-Americans last season.