Florida, the two-time defending SEC regular-season champion, has been selected as the preseason favorite for the 2017 season after a vote of the 13 SEC head coaches in the annual preseason poll. The Missouri Tigers were picked 9th as Mizzou Softball begins its quest for another deep NCAA postseason run on Feb. 10 with the Charleston Southern Tournament in Charleston, S.C.
A season ago, Mizzou made its 10th consecutive trip to the NCAA Regionals (2007-16). The Tigers’ dominating 3-0 weekend at University Field last May secured their eighth NCAA Regional Championship since 2008.
Mizzou also fared well in the final national rankings, placing 12th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and 15th in the NFCA Division I Coaches/USA Today poll. The Tigers have ranked in the top 25 national polls for 129 consecutive weeks, dating back to the final poll of the 2008 campaign.
Points for the poll were awarded on a 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 basis. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
SEC teams begin action on Thursday, Feb. 9. The 2017 SEC Softball Tournament will take place May 10-13 at the Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
2017 SEC Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)
| Place | School | Points |
| 1. | Florida (9) | 141 |
| 2. | Auburn (2) | 126 |
| 3. | Alabama | 118 |
| LSU (1) | 118 | |
| 5. | Tennessee | 98 |
| 6. | Texas A&M (1) | 83 |
| 7. | Georgia | 78 |
| 8. | Kentucky | 75 |
| 9. | Missouri | 53 |
| 10. | Ole Miss | 45 |
| 11. | South Carolina | 38 |
| 12. | Mississippi State | 28 |
| 13. | Arkansas | 13 |
