UA Wildcats softball
USA Today ranks Wildcats No. 6 in preseason softball
ESPN/USA Softball puts UA at No. 4
The University of Arizona softball team is ranked sixth in the preseason USA TODAY/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll.
Washington received all 30 first-place votes to top the poll. Arizona State is ranked fifth, UCLA eighth, Stanford 10th, and California 12th.
On Tuesday, the Cats received one first-place vote and a No. 4 ranking in the ESPN/USA Softball poll.
The Wildcats, who finished 46-17 in 2009, received 424 points in the voting.
Washington, which received 17 first-place votes, is No. 1 with 479, followed by Alabama (with one first-place) at 457 and Michigan with 430. UCLA, which received the other first-place vote, is No. 6 at 396.
Other Pacific-10 Conference schools in the poll are No. 7 Arizona State (387), No. 11 California (282) and No. 12 Stanford (252).
The Wildcats open their season Feb. 12 in Tempe in the Kajikawa Classic. UA plays Western Michigan at 3 p.m. and Purdue at 5:30 p.m.