Preseason coaches poll has Devils at No.4

The 2013 NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll was released on Tuesday with Arizona State in the top 5. The Sun Devils will open up the season with the No. 4 ranking. The top of the poll features the defending champions, Alabama at No. 1 with Oklahoma coming in at No.2. Fellow Pac-12 rivals California and Oregon sandwich Arizona State at three and five respectively.

Arizona State finished the 2012 season with a 53-11 record and an appearance in the Women’s College World Series. They were eliminated in the semifinals by Oklahoma, one year after winning the WCWS. ASU has been in the top 10 ranking to start the season in six of the last eight years under head coach Clint Myers and has made the Women’s College World Series in six of those years. They also won two championships in 2008 and 2011 under Myers.

The Pac-12 conference is loaded with teams in the Top 25. Arizona (13), Washington (16), UCLA (19) and Stanford (21) are in the top 25 to go along with California (3), ASU (4) and Oregon at (5).

ASU will host Washington, Oregon and California in Tempe this season. They will play Arizona, UCLA and Stanford on the road. Non-conference games against teams from the new rankings include North Carolina (22) and Baylor (24) in Tempe for the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational. The maroon and gold will face Texas (7) and Michigan (15) in the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, California in March.

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