The Sun Devils gather to celebrate a home run from junior Haley Steele during game two of the NCAA Tempe Regional Championships against the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday, May 18, at Farrington Stadium. ASU lost to Michigan 4-5. (Photo by Becca Smouse)
After starting the last three seasons ranked No. 1, No. 4, and No. 7, the ASU softball team begins its 2015 campaign ranked 16th in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll.
The Sun Devils finished last season with a record of 46-12-1, good enough for third in the Pac-12 behind Oregon and UCLA. ASU finished its season with a 5-4 loss to Michigan in the regional round of the Women's College World Series in Tempe.
No. 16 ASU is among five Pac-12 teams in the preseason top 25, joined by No. 2 Oregon, No. 7 UCLA, No. 11 Washington and No. 14 Arizona.
The ranking is the lowest the Sun Devils have been placed in the preseason since 2006, when ASU was unranked. When the Sun Devils won the national championship in 2011, ASU was No. 13.
This season, ASU's out-of-conference opponents ranked in the Top 25 include No. 4 Oklahoma (twice), No. 8 Michigan (thrice), No. 10 Baylor, No. 15 Minnesota and No. 20 Auburn.
ASU will begin its season with a doubleheader in the Kajikawa Classic against Creighton and Western Michigan on Feb. 5 at home.
NFCA Top 25:
1. Florida 2. Oregon 3. Alabama 4. Oklahoma 5. Florida State 6. Kentucky 7. UCLA 8. Michigan 9. Louisiana-Lafayette 10. Baylor 11. Washington 12. Georgia 13. Tennessee 14. Arizona 15. Minnesota 16. ASU 17. Missouri 18. Nebraska 19. LSU 20. Auburn 21. Tulsa 22. Notre Dame 23. South Alabama 24. Texas A&M; 25. DePaul
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @RClarkeASU
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