Gamecocks softball to start season ranked

South Carolina is ranked to start the year for the tenth time since 1995.

South Carolina softball will start the 2020 season at No. 19 in the initial USA Today/NFCA Poll and No. 21 in the opening ESPN/USA Softball rankings, it was announced Tuesday. This marks the first time since 2004 the Gamecocks started seasons ranked in back-to-back years.

Carolina has been ranked in every poll since Feb. 20, 2018, a streak of 113 games that is set to continue Feb. 7 when the Gamecocks open the year with a doubleheader against North Dakota State and Southern Illinois that is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.

According to the Coaches Poll, South Carolina is set to face 11 ranked foes including No. 1 Washington, No. 2 Alabama, No. 7 Florida, No. 11 LSU, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Georgia, No. 17 Michigan, No. 18 Texas Tech, No. 20 James Madison and No. 23 Auburn. They will also face an additional three teams that received votes in the initial poll. Those three teams are Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and Ohio State.

Other preseason poll positions for South Carolina include: No. 22 according to Softball America, No. 21 according to FloSoftball, and No. 20 based on D1 Softball's ranking.