The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) announced its 2010 Preseason Softball Poll on Tuesday and Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns debuted on the list at No. 24. The ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Collegiate Top 25 Poll, announced by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA,) has UL listed at No. 23.

The Cajuns finished the 2009 season at the NCAA Waco Regional ranked 25th in the USA Today/ NFCA Division I poll and was receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings.  

The Cajuns return six All-Sun Belt Conference selections and eight All-Louisiana honorees.  In addition, UL returns the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year, Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, Louisiana Pitcher of the Year and Louisiana Freshman of the Year to the roster in 2010.

Ashley Brignac, Donna Bourgeois and Brittany Cuevas are back in the circle to pace the Cajuns' pitching efforts while Melissa Verde, Lana Bowers and Gabriele Bridges are back to power the offense.

The softball team's speedsters - Vallie Gaspard and Katie Smith - return as well.  The duo combined for 104 base hits in 2009.

Louisiana opens the season on Friday, Feb. 12, as they host the 24th Annual Louisiana Classics at Alfred and Helen Lamson Ragin' Cajuns Softball Park.  The Cajuns will face Bryant, Bradley and Syracuse in the three-day tournament.   

The Cajuns will face six opponents this season that are ranked in the both preseason polls (Washington - No. 1/1; Michigan - No. 4/3; Missouri - No. 9/9; Georgia Tech - No. 13/14; UMass - No. 20/25; Fresno State - No. 25/24). Four more opponents on the 2010 slate are receiving votes in the NFCA poll (Houston, Texas, Purdue, Cal State Fullerton).

After winning its first-ever national championship in 2009, the Washington Huskies will begin the 2010 softball season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation.  Four other participants from last year's Women's College World Series, Alabama, Florida, Michigan and Arizona State, round out the top five.

NFCA Poll

RANK, TEAM, '09 Record, TOTALS, Last Poll
1. Washington (30), 51-12, 750, 1
2. Alabama, 54-11, 677, 3
3. Florida, 63-5, 649, 2
4. Michigan, 47-12, 625, 6
5. Arizona State, 47-19, 613, 5
6. Arizona, 46-17, 597, 7
7. Georgia, 47-12, 569, 4
8. UCLA, 45-11, 558, 9
9. Missouri, 50-12, 536, 8
10. Stanford, 48-11, 433, 10
11. Oklahoma, 41-16, 401, 16
12. California, 38-20, 370, 11
13. Georgia Tech, 46-15, 319, 13
14. Ohio State, 47-11, 312, 12
15. Northwestern, 31-15, 288, 18
16. Tennessee, 40-18-1, 245, 20
17. Baylor, 40-22, 226, 15
18. LSU, 34-18-1, 219, 19
19. North Carolina, 47-13, 209, 17
20. Massachusetts, 41-10, 199, 14
21. DePaul, 39-14, 178, 23
22. Louisville, 48-11, 166, RV
23. Florida State, 44-16, 109, 22
24. UL-Lafayette, 45-13, 88, 25
25. Fresno State, 38-20, 75, RV
 
Others Receiving Votes: North Dakota St. 44, Jacksonville State 38, Cal Poly 37, Nevada 31, Nebraska 28, Texas 23, Notre Dame 21, Cal State Fullerton 17, San Diego State 15, Iowa 11, Kentucky 11, Purdue 10, Hawai'i 8, Mississippi State 7, Southern Illinois 7, Cal State Northridge 6, Texas A&M 6, Tulsa 6, Creighton 4, BYU 3, Houston 3, and Oklahoma State 3.


ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
Pre-season - January 26, 2010

Rank, Team, 2009 Record, Points, Last Rank in 09
1. Washington (17), 51-12, 479, 1
2. Alabama (1), 54-11, 457, 3
3. Michigan, 47-12, 430, 5
4. Arizona (1), 46-17, 424, 7
5. Florida, 63-5, 407, 2
6. UCLA (1), 45-11, 396, 10
7. Arizona State, 47-19, 387, 6
8. Georgia, 47-12, 363, 4
9. Missouri, 50-12, 337, 8
10. Oklahoma, 41-16, 306, 17
11. California, 38-20, 282, 12
12. Stanford, 48-11, 256, 9
13. LSU, 34-18-1, 234, 19
14. Georgia Tech, 46-15, 215, 13
15. Baylor, 40-22, 214, 15
16. Ohio State, 47-11, 187, 11
17. Northwestern, 31-15, 167, 20
18. Tennessee, 40-18-1, 163, 16
19. Florida State, 44-16, 128, 25
20. DePaul, 39-14, 107, 23
21. Louisville, 48-11, 93, 24
22. North Carolina, 47-13, 91, 22
23. Louisiana-Lafayette, 45-13, 84, RV
24. Fresno State, 38-20, 70, RV
25. UMass, 41-10, 55, 14

Parenthesis Denotes first place votes.

Others receiving votes:  Kentucky 26, Jacksonville State 17, Auburn 14, North Dakota State 14, Nevada 12, Oregon 11, Oklahoma State 10, Texas 8, Cal Poly 7, Notre Dame 7, Nebraska 6, Texas A&M 5, Ball State 4, BYU 4, San Diego State 4, Long Beach State 3, Purdue 2, New Mexico State 1, Virginia Tech 1 and Western Michigan 1.