2022 Southeastern Conference softball season explained

The 2022 SEC softball season began play Thursday, February 10, and conference play began on Thursday, March 11. The 2022 Southeastern Conference softball tournament was May 10–14 at Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. Arkansas played Missouri in the tournament final, winning by a score of 4–0. Vanderbilt University is the only full member of the Southeastern Conference to not sponsor a softball program.

SEC preseason poll

The head coaches SEC preseason poll was released on January 31, 2022. Each head coach votes on a scale of 12 points for first place down to 1 point for last place, 12th. Each coach only votes for 12 teams, since they can not vote for their own team. Alabama was picked to finish 1st, with seven 1st place votes. Florida was 2nd with three 1st place votes, Arkansas 3rd with three, and Tennessee 4th with the remaining one 1st place votes.^[1]

Preseason poll
1	Alabama
2	Florida
3	Arkansas
4	Tennessee
5	Missouri
6	LSU
7	Georgia
7	Kentucky
9	Ole Miss
10	Texas A&M
11	Auburn
12	Mississippi State
13	South Carolina

Record vs. conference opponents

Tiebrkrs: KEN&FLA>LSU KEN>FLA hd–hd. MISS>UGA hd–hd.

National rankings

In the final rankings the Southeastern Conference had 8 or 9 teams ranked in the top 25 in three of the major polls. Of the 13 teams in the SEC, 12 went to the NCAA tournament.

• Florida went up in the rankings to become the highest ranked SEC team. Florida lost to the number 1 seed Arkansas in the 2022 SEC softball tournament semifinal, but was the only SEC team to make the Women's College World Series (WCWS) where they went 1–2.
• Arkansas dropped in the polls, after winning the SEC tournament, but losing in their Super Regional, falling just short of the WCWS.
• Alabama dropped 9 or 10 places in the final polls, losing their only game in the SEC tournament and was eliminated in their NCAA tournament Regional falling just short of a Super Regional.
• Mississippi State rose in the rankings from being unranked, going 1–1 in the SEC tournament and winning a Regional in the NCAA tournament.
• Tennessee dropped in the rankings, going 1–1 in the SEC tournament and also losing their Super Regional.
• Kentucky lost their only SEC tournament game, and lost a Regional.
• Georgia dropped 4 or less in the polls.
• Missouri finished 22nd or 23rd, having made the finals of the SEC tournament and going 1–2 in a Regional.
• Auburn dropped in the polls, going 0–1 in the SEC tournament, and 1–2 in a Regional.
• LSU, going 0–1 in the SEC tournament and 0–2 in a Regional, dropped out of all three rankings.
• Ole Miss, going 1–1 in the SEC Tournament and 2–2 in a Regional, dropped out of all three rankings.
• Texas A&M also lost a Regional.
• South Carolina did not play in the NCAA tournament.^{[2] [3]}

NFCA/USA Today

See 2022 NCAA Division I softball rankings#NFCA/USA Today also.

Week	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	class=unsortable
FLA	6	4	4	4	4	5	6	7	7	9	8	9	10	12	12	5	FLA
ARK	8	10	10	11	12	12	10	10	10	7	7	7	5	4	4	9	ARK
ALA	2	2	2	2	2	3	4	4	5	3	2	5	6	5	7	17	ALA
MSU	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	19	MSU
TENN	22	18	17	18	18	15	15	13	12	15	15	13	14	13	13	20	TENN
KEN	19	16	12	10	9	8	8	8	8	8	9	11	13	14	15	21	KEN
data-sort-value=G	UGA	12	13	15	16	15	16	17	15	15	14	14	15	16	18	19	22	UGA
data-sort-value=MO	MIZZ	11	17	16	15	14	18	21	24	24	data-sort-value=27	–	data-sort-value=27	–	data-sort-value=27	–	24	24	20	23	MIZZ
AUB	data-sort-value=27	–	data-sort-value=28	–	21	20	20	19	18	17	17	19	18	16	15	17	17	24	AUB
LSU	14	21	24	22	21	20	22	20	21	21	21	19	19	20	22	data-sort-value=28	–	LSU
data-sort-value=O	MISS	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	MISS
SCAR	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	SCAR
data-sort-value=TEX	TAMU	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	TAMU

^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]}

D1Softball

See 2022 NCAA Division I softball rankings#D1Softball also.

Week	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	class=unsortable
FLA	5	3	3	3	3	5	6	7	8	10	10	11	12	13	5	FLA
ARK	8	9	8	8	8	8	9	10	10	6	6	5	4	4	8	ARK
MSU	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	17	MSU
ALA	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	5	2	2	7	8	6	18	ALA
KEN	20	18	15	14	14	13	12	12	11	12	13	14	15	14	19	KEN
TENN	18	15	20	17	16	14	14	11	12	16	16	13	13	11	20	TENN
data-sort-value=MO	MIZZ	10	14	14	12	10	16	20	data-sort-value=27	–	24	data-sort-value=27	–	data-sort-value=27	–	data-sort-value=27	–	data-sort-value=27	–	data-sort-value=27	–	22	MIZZ
data-sort-value=G	UGA	19	19	19	19	18	21	21	18	14	13	15	16	18	21	23	UGA
AUB	data-sort-value=28	–	data-sort-value=28	–	21	20	19	17	18	17	18	22	19	19	17	19	data-sort-value=28	–	AUB
LSU	17	23	25	22	21	19	25	22	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	data-sort-value=29	–	25	25	23	data-sort-value=29	–	LSU
data-sort-value=O	MISS	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	25	data-sort-value=30	–	MISS
SCAR	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	SCAR
data-sort-value=TEX	TAMU	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	data-sort-value=31	–	TAMU

^{[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33]}

ESPN/USA Softball Collegiate

See 2022 NCAA Division I softball rankings#ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 also.

Week	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	class=unsortable
FLA	5	4	4	4	4	6	6	7	6	9	9	10	11	13	14	5	FLA
ARK	9	10	8	11	11	10	8	9	9	6	6	5	5	5	4	8	ARK
ALA	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	2	2	6	8	7	8	17	ALA
TENN	16	15	17	17	18	14	14	11	11	14	14	12	12	10	10	19	TENN
MSU	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	data-sort-value=26	–	20	MSU
KEN	20	19	14	13	12	11	13	12	12	12	12	14	15	14	15	21	KEN
data-sort-value=MO	MIZZ	12	17	19	8	8	17	19	25	25	data-sort-value=27	–	data-sort-value=27	–	25	23	22	17	22	MIZZ
data-sort-value=G	UGA	19	18	18	18	19	21	21	18	16	13	13	15	18	18	19	23	UGA
AUB	data-sort-value=28	–	data-sort-value=28	–	21	20	20	19	18	17	17	19	18	16	15	17	17	24	AUB
LSU	14	21	24	22	21	20	22	20	21	21	21	19	19	20	22	data-sort-value=29	–	LSU
data-sort-value=O	MISS	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	MISS
SCAR	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	SCAR
data-sort-value=TEX	TAMU	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	data-sort-value=30	–	TAMU

^{[34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Alabama is Preseason Favorite for 2022 Softball Season. January 31, 2022 . SEC Sports . March 23, 2023.
2. Web site: 2022 SEC softball tournament bracket. May 14, 2022. May 7, 2023. NCAA.
3. Web site: 2022 Women's College World Series: NCAA softball tournament. Jun 9, 2022. April 7, 2023. NCAA.
4. Web site: USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (PRESEASON). February 1, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
5. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 1). February 15, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
6. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 2). February 22, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
7. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 3). March 1, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
8. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 4). March 8, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
9. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 5) . April 6, 2023 . en-gb.
10. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 6) . April 6, 2023 . en-gb.
11. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 7). March 29, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
12. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 8). April 5, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
13. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 9). April 12, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
14. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 10). April 19, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
15. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 11). April 26, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
16. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 12). May 3, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
17. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 13). May 10, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
18. Web site: 2022 USA TODAY / NFCA DIVISION I TOP 25 COACHES POLL (WEEK 14). May 17, 2022. April 6, 2023. NFCA.
19. Web site: 2022 D1Softball Preseason Top 25 Rankings. D1Softball. January 17, 2022. April 6, 2023.
20. Web site: D1Softball Top 25 Rankings: Oklahoma Hold Strong; UCF, Illinois Enter. D1Softball. February 14, 2022. April 6, 2023.
21. Web site: D1Softball Top 25 Rankings: Week 2. D1Softball. February 21, 2022. April 6, 2023.
22. Web site: D1Softball Top 25 Rankings: Week 3. D1Softball. February 28, 2022. April 6, 2023.
23. Web site: D1Softball Top 25 Rankings: Week 4. D1Softball. March 7, 2022. April 6, 2023.
24. Web site: D1Softball's Top 25 Rankings: Oklahoma Remains No. 1, Texas Re-Enters . D1Softball . April 6, 2023. 14 March 2022.
25. Web site: D1Softball's Top 25: Texas Makes Moves, Ohio State Enters. D1Softball. March 20, 2022. April 6, 2023.
26. Web site: D1Softball Top 25: Northwestern Climbs; Boise State Enters. D1Softball. March 28, 2022. April 6, 2023.
27. Web site: D1Softball Top 25: Oklahoma State Climbs, San Diego State Enters. D1Softball. April 5, 2022. April 6, 2023.
28. Web site: D1Softball Top 25: Arkansas Moves Up, Notre Dame and Stanford Enter. D1Softball. April 11, 2022. April 6, 2023.
29. Web site: D1Softball Top 25: Nebraska and Illinois Enter, Washington Climbs. D1Softball. April 18, 2022. April 6, 2023.
30. Web site: D1Softball Top 25: Virginia Tech Moves to No. 2, Stanford and LSU Enter. D1Softball. April 25, 2022. April 6, 2023.
31. Web site: D1Softball Top 25: Arkansas climbs, Louisiana and Wichita State enter. D1Softball. May 2, 2022. April 6, 2023.
32. Web site: D1Softball Top 25: Arizona State climbs, Ole Miss enters. D1Softball. May 9, 2022. April 6, 2023.
33. Web site: D1Softball Top 25: Oklahoma Repeats, Big 12 Makes a Statement. D1Softball. June 14, 2022. April 6, 2023.
34. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Preseason. https://web.archive.org/web/20220126220553/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Preseason. dead. January 26, 2022. January 25, 2022. USA Softball. January 27, 2022.
35. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 1. https://web.archive.org/web/20220215184638/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-1. dead. February 15, 2022. February 15, 2022. USA Softball. February 15, 2022.
36. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 2. https://web.archive.org/web/20220222171647/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-2. dead. February 22, 2022. February 22, 2022. USA Softball. February 22, 2022.
37. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 3. https://web.archive.org/web/20220301210850/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-3. dead. March 1, 2022. March 1, 2022. USA Softball. March 1, 2022.
38. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 4. https://web.archive.org/web/20220308190057/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-4. dead. March 8, 2022. March 8, 2022. USA Softball. March 8, 2022.
39. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 5. https://web.archive.org/web/20220329181326/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-5. dead. March 29, 2022. March 15, 2022. USA Softball. 16 March 2022.
40. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 6. https://web.archive.org/web/20220329181329/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-6. dead. March 29, 2022. March 22, 2022. USA Softball. 22 March 2022.
41. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 7. https://web.archive.org/web/20220329181322/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-7. dead. March 29, 2022. March 29, 2022. USA Softball. 29 March 2022.
42. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 8. https://web.archive.org/web/20220405184138/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-8. dead. April 5, 2022. April 5, 2022. USA Softball. April 5, 2022.
43. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 9. https://web.archive.org/web/20220412175101/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-9. dead. April 12, 2022. April 12, 2022. USA Softball. April 12, 2022.
44. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 10. https://web.archive.org/web/20220419172206/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-10. dead. April 19, 2022. April 19, 2022. USA Softball. April 19, 2022.
45. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 11. https://web.archive.org/web/20220426172157/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-11. dead. April 26, 2022. April 26, 2022. USA Softball. April 26, 2022.
46. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 12. https://web.archive.org/web/20220503175908/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-12. dead. May 3, 2022. May 3, 2022. USA Softball. May 3, 2022.
47. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 13. https://web.archive.org/web/20220510180838/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-13. dead. May 10, 2022. May 10, 2022. USA Softball. May 10, 2022.
48. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 – Week 14. https://web.archive.org/web/20221201180141/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Week-14. dead. December 1, 2022. May 17, 2022. USA Softball. May 17, 2022.
49. Web site: ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 - Final. https://web.archive.org/web/20220614183528/https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/College-Corner/2022-College-Corner/Top-25-Polls/Final. dead. June 14, 2022. June 14, 2022. USA Softball . June 14, 2022.