DePaul Ranked 11th In Final USA Softball Top 25 Poll

2005 DePaul Blue Demons

DePaul had not been ranked higher than No. 23 all season entering postseason play, but a surprise run to the Women's College World Series landed the Blue Demons in the 11th spot in the final ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll released on Thursday.

In all, the Blue Demons tallied an 8-3 record in postseason action, which included their fourth consecutive C-USA Tournament title, a NCAA Region Eight crown in Madison, Wis., and a two-game sweep of Northwestern at the Chicago Super Regional. DePaul's victories over the cross-town Wildcats secured the school's third trip to the World Series.

The University of Michigan completed its dream season by winning its first World Series to finish atop the poll.

UCLA made an incredible run through the postseason to finish second in Oklahoma City. Tennessee moved up 10 spots in the final poll to No. 3 after pushing Michigan to the “if” game of the bracket finals.

Arizona and California, two teams that were ranked in the top three the entire season, fell to No. 5 and 6 respectively after early exits from the Series.

For the first time in school history, Bethune Cookman of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference finished the season ranked in the Top 25 after advancing to Super Regionals. At No. 23, the Wildcats pushed Texas to the limit in Austin losing 1-0 in nine innings in game one before dropping game two 6-1.

The Big 12 and Pac 10 Conferences lead the way with teams finishing in the top 25 with six each. The SEC ends with the season with four representatives, while the Big 10 finishes with three. Five other conferences are represented in the top 25 with one team each including Atlantic Coast, Conference USA, Mid-Eastern Athletic, Western Athletic, Sunbelt and Missouri Valley.