Super 16 college softball rankings: Tennessee, Texas, Texas Tech solidify top spots

We're still a few weeks away from seeing the first college softball RPI rankings of the season, but it looks like the top three teams in the country have certainly solidified their place at the top of the heap.

Tennessee remains the No. 1 team in The Oklahoman's College Softball Super 16 poll for the third consecutive week while Texas and Texas Tech have held fast in the next two spots, too. They are actually tied for the second spot this week after the Red Raiders had held it outright the past two weeks.

Will the RPI rankings paint a different picture?

The Rating Percentage Index takes all sorts of things into account, after all, including strength of schedule, opponent's winning percentage and opponent's opponent's winning percentage. But Tennessee, Texas and Texas Tech have all played some tough opponents already, most notably the Vols who've played (and beaten) three teams currently in the top 10.

After those top three teams, the rankings are much more tightly packed.

Oklahoma, for instance, stays at No. 4 again this week, but it is 21 points out of third. Meanwhile, there are three teams — Alabama, Nebraska and UCLA — within 22 points of the Sooners' spot.

Conference play will be in full swing soon — the ACC started last week while the SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten open this week — but will that provide more clarity on the best teams? Or muddy the waters?

Stay tuned.

Let's get to the Super 16.

More: What's the early headline in college softball? 'Everybody's getting better'

The Oklahoman's College Softball Super 16

Team, Points (first-place votes), Record, Last week’s ranking

1. Tennessee, 160 (10), 19-0, 1

2T. Texas, 145, 19-1, 3

2T. Texas Tech, 145, 22-1, 2

4. Oklahoma, 119, 19-2, 4

5. Alabama, 112, 20-0, 6

6. Nebraska, 106, 14-5, 5

7. UCLA, 97, 18-3, 10

8. Arkansas, 85, 19-1, 9

9. Florida, 82, 23-1, 7

10. Florida State, 80, 17-4, 8

11. Oklahoma State, 59, 15-5, 11

12. Virginia Tech, 54, 16-2, 12

13. Georgia, 31, 17-5, 14

14. Arizona, 26, 17-5, 13

15. LSU, 15, 17-4, RV

16. Virginia, 14, 19-1, 16

Others receiving votes: Oregon, 11, 13-6, RV; Mississippi State, 7, 18-2, RV; Stanford, 5, 11-6, 15; Texas A&M, 3, 15-7, RV; Arizona State, 1, 19-3, NR; Grand Canyon, 1, 22-0, NR; UCF, 1, 20-4, NR

Voters: Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman; Nathan Giese, Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal; Eric Lopez, In The Circle; Justin McLeod, D1Softball.com; Joe Mussatto, The Oklahoman; Noah Ram, Gainesville (Fla.) Sun; Colton Sulley, The Oklahoman; Brady Vernon, Softball America; Kirk Walker, Oklahoma City Spark general manager; Scott Wright, The Oklahoman.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Super 16 college softball rankings: Tennessee remains unanimous No. 1