So many games have already been played this college softball season.
So much, though, is still left to be decided.
With the regular season behind and the postseason dead ahead, this is final edition of The Oklahoman‘s College Softball Super 16 rankings this season. Even as Oklahoma tightens its grip on the top spot — the Sooners are the unanimous No. 1 for the second consecutive week — the rankings are evidence of how much is left to be determined.
That starts later this week with the NCAA Tournament bracket. The top 16 seeds will host regionals while the top eight have a chance also host super regionals the following week. While the top six teams in the Super 16 have been solidly locked into the top eight for several weeks, the next couple of spots are more of a toss-up.
Tennessee, Florida and UCLA have occupied the next three spots for several weeks, but their order has changed repeatedly. And because all are in line for top eight seeds and super regionals, how they finish is a big deal.
The other interesting cutline, of course, is at the bottom of the Super 16.
If these rankings are any indication, the NCAA selection committee may only have a few teams that it’s strongly considering for the last couple of regional hosts. Super 16 voters only cast votes for a total of 18 teams, meaning the number of squads getting serious consideration for the top 16 has been whittled down.
Stanford got the last spot in the rankings, but LSU and Virginia Tech finished as close to the Cardinal as it finished to No. 15 Texas A&M.
Looks like the selection committee will have some interesting decisions this weekend.
Let’s get to the Super 16.
The Oklahoman’s College Softball Super 16
Team, Points (first-place votes), Record, Last week’s ranking
1. Oklahoma, 176 (11), 48-7, 1
2. Nebraska, 161, 43-6, 2
3. Alabama, 146, 47-6, 3
4. Arkansas, 139, 41-10, 5
5. Texas Tech, 138, 50-5, 4
6. Texas, 112, 39-10, 6
7. Tennessee, 108, 42-9, 9
8T. Florida, 83, 47-9, 8
8T. UCLA, 83, 45-7, 7
10. Oregon, 77, 40-11, 14
11. Florida State, 67, 46-8, 10
12. Duke, 62, 38-13, 11
13. Oklahoma State, 52, 37-14, 12
14. Georgia, 48, 36-17, 15
15. Texas A&M, 25, 36-16, 13
16. Stanford, 11, 36-12, 16
Others receiving votes: LSU, 6, 37-16, RV; Virginia Tech, 2, 44-9, RV
Voters: Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman; Nathan Giese, Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal; Cora Hall, Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel; Eric Lopez, In The Circle; Justin McLeod, D1Softball.com; Joe Mussatto, The Oklahoman; Noah Ram, Gainesville (Fla.) Sun; Colton Sulley, The Oklahoman; Brady Vernon, Softball America; Kirk Walker, Oklahoma City Spark general manager; Scott Wright, The Oklahoman.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Super 16 college softball rankings: Can anyone slow down Oklahoma?