Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun softball team, who return five position starters, along with a 27-game winner in the circle, are ranked 11th in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 preseason poll, which was released on Tuesday.

Louisiana went 53-6 a season ago, including a 21-3 Sun Belt Conference mark, and advanced to NCAA Super Regional play.

In the circle, the Cajuns return pitcher Jordan Wallace, who went 27-2, with a 2.26 ERA. as a freshman, along with Christina Hamilton, who missed all of 2012 recovering from a knee injury, after going 11-2, with a 1.76 ERA. as a freshman in 2011.

Starting position players returning for Louisiana include catcher Sarah Draheim, first baseman Matte Haack, shortstop Nerissa Myers, third baseman Natalie Fernandez, and outfielder Brianna Cherry.

The Cajuns will also be relying on a talented crop of newcomers in 2013, including freshmen Sara Corbello and Shellie Landry, along with transfers Shelbi Redfearn and Victoria Brown.

Alabama, the defending champs, top the poll, followed by Oklahoma, California, Arizona St., and Oregon, to round out the top five.

6-10 consists of Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, Georgia, and LSU.

South Alabama, who won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last year, received two votes.

View the entire poll below:

1 Alabama (25) 60-8

2 Oklahoma (5) 54-10

3 California (1) 58-7

4 Arizona State 53-11

5 Oregon 45-18

6 Tennessee 52-14

7 Texas 47-13

8 Missouri 47-14

9 Georgia 45-17

10 LSU 40-25

11 Louisiana 53-6

12 USF 50-14

13 Arizona 38-19

14 Florida 48-11

15 Michigan 42-17

16 Washington 39-19

17 Texas A&M 41-18

18 Louisville 55-5

19 UCLA 36-20

20 Hofstra 42-15

21 Stanford 40-19

22 North Carolina 43-15

23 Hawai'i 44-9

24 Baylor 34-22

25 Florida State 47-16

Others Receiving Votes:

Notre Dame (43), Georgia Tech (29), Syracuse (27), Kentucky (23), Oregon State (22), Texas Tech (12), Virginia Tech (11), DePaul (10), Northwestern (5), BYU (4), Houston (3), Tulsa (2), Mississippi State (2), Illinois State (2), South Alabama (2).

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