Oregon Ducks softball ranked No. 6 in preseason coaches poll

In that time, OU has been ranked in the preseason Top 10 on 16 occasions; only Arizona (18) and UCLA (17) have appeared more times.

The four-time defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma softball team is starting the 2016 season ranked ninth in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Preseason Coaches Poll, which was released Tuesday.

Louisiana-Lafayette (42-12 last season) enters the 2015 season ranked 11th in both polls after reaching the Super Regional for the fourth straight season. They reached their highest ranking in program history when they reached No. 11 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll last season after winning a program best 15 straight games. Additionally, Texas and Kansas are receiving votes in the initial rankings, giving the conference 57 percent of its teams either ranked or receiving votes.

Southeastern Conference members Auburn and Alabama sit in fourth place and fifth place with one first-place vote each.

MI checked in at No. 2 in both major polls, recieving two first-place votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and one vote in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.

After winning back-to-back NCAA titles, Florida has been tabbed as the favorite, receiving 26 of the 32 first-place votes.

The Wildcats are scheduled to face 10 Top 25 teams, including five of the top eight teams in the poll. Florida headlines the top five in each poll followed by Michigan, LSU, Auburn/Oregon and Alabama.

The Ducks, under seventh-year head coach Mike White, open up the 2016 campaign on February 12 at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.