The unseeded NCAA Tournament-bound Gophers softball team is the new No. 1 team in the country in the latest USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll.
It’s the first No. 1 ranking in Gophers softball history.
Florida, the No. 2 team in the coaches poll, is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament while the Gophers, the No. 1 team in the coaches poll, did not receive one of the top 16 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
Minnesota opens tournament play Friday at 1:30 p.m. in the Alabama regional against Louisiana Tech.
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— Sara Groenewegen, OLY (@saragroe) May 16, 2017
Clearly, college coaches don’t think the same as the tournament selection committee, which described their snub of the Gophers like this to the Star Tribune.
“When the committee compared Minnesota against other teams being considered for the top 16 seeds, Minnesota did not have as many regular-season Top 10 and Top 25 wins as compared to other teams. The teams that were selected as the 16 seeds had at least one or more Top 10 wins and between four to 18 Top 25 wins. Minnesota did not have any Top 10 wins and only two Top 25 wins.
“Furthermore, Minnesota’s strength of schedule was 114. The top seeded teams had strength of schedules ranging from 1 to 36.”
