The WCGA released the 2022 preseason coaches poll last Friday, so we decided to break it all down and discuss our thoughts about the pick for No. 1, the 36 teams that made the list and what we would do differently.
Think the coaches got it wrong? What does your top 36 look like? Let us know in the comments or on social media!
What are your initial impressions when looking at the poll?
Elizabeth: I would change some individual rankings slightly, but I think the overall picture is correct. We’ll get a rematch of last year’s national final, the typical regionals teams will return and we’ll see North Carolina and Michigan State finally qualify for the postseason.
Tara: I think it’s pretty good overall! I don’t think we’ve seen this kind of spread in first-place votes in a while, which is definitely indicative of the quality of the top teams! There are some questionable bubble teams that didn’t make it, but I definitely think the coaches got it right with Michigan State and North Carolina in the top 36.
Ryan: It’s interesting how there are some significant differences between this poll and the College Gym News poll, yet I can agree with them both! I think that reflects how incredible all of these teams are going to be this year.
Claire: The top 10 is pretty much what I expected to see, but there are more than a few picks in the rest of the list that seem pretty bold if not downright inaccurate. So a typical preseason poll!
Emily M: I’m not really surprised. The poll usually pretty closely mirrors the previous year’s results.
Katie W: I think overall it’s pretty reflective of the top tier teams. I’m glad to see Missouri was ranked as high as it was based upon the incoming class. Oftentimes the poll tends to stick with the year’s prior rankings. Michigan State and North Carolina making the top 36 was also a strong move for the regional bubble teams.
Allison: Overall, it looks how I expected it to. Like Ryan said, I think both polls look pretty accurate, but it speaks for how strong so many of these teams look before the season even starts.
Mary Emma: It looks about how I expected it to—mostly the same as last year’s results, but there’s definitely a few surprises, like the coaches paying attention to North Carolina looking strong in preseason.
Do you think the coaches got No. 1 right? Why or why not?
Elizabeth: I personally put Florida as my No. 1, but there’s certainly a case for a number of teams, including Michigan. This coaches poll often puts the defending national champion No. 1 as a respect thing, so I’m fine with it.
Tara: This is a tough one, but I think so. There’s so much parity between the top contenders this season that you could argue for just about any one of them. I personally had Michigan as No. 1, but that was a tough choice (see our CGN preseason poll roundtable for more thoughts). I wouldn’t have been mad with a different team, but Michigan is certainly in the mix and has the benefit of being the reigning national champion.
Ryan: I have a tough time finding any reasons why Michigan shouldn’t be No. 1, but there’s something about Florida’s incoming class that had them at the top of my rankings. It will be interesting to see if freshmen around the country will be able to add enough to their teams to overcome the scores we know this Michigan team can produce.
Claire: Michigan was my No. 1 pick, and the team’s recent intrasquad reinforced that pick in my mind. That said, I’m glad to see that so many teams got first-place votes. This is going to be a tight race at the top, and the point spread reflects that.
Emily M: I don’t know! Michigan looks great, but so do a lot of teams right now, and I have depth questions for the Wolverines with Carly Bauman out for the year.
Katie W: You can’t go wrong with the defending champions ranked at No. 1. I do think Florida has more depth and talent on paper but will have to see what happens when the competition amps up. I was surprised to see how many first-place votes Michigan received compared to Florida though.
Allison: I think so, yes! Florida has had some unexpected hiccups in past seasons. Those really seem to shake things up while Michigan just keeps on keeping on.
Mary Emma: I picked Michigan as No. 1, so I’d say yes, but honestly, there’s at least four to five teams who I could see realistically taking the title.
What stands out to you most overall?
Elizabeth: I know last year was weird, but we got way more votes this time around than in 2021. Plus, Michigan’s 37 first-place votes is the most for the No. 1 team in the poll since I believe 2017 when Oklahoma got 47.
Tara: Echoing Elizabeth here—the sheer number of votes. Also, the spread of first place votes among the top teams! Finally, while my preseason poll was slightly different, the three non-BYU MRGC teams being back to back to back in the rankings is indicative of how closely matched the teams in the conference are.
Ryan: I agree that six teams receiving first place votes showcases how close everything is. Even the rankings reflect that, with Florida, Oklahoma and Utah all separated by less than 15 points! It’s interesting to see the drop off between them and the rest of the pack though. Looks like the coaches think we’ll have the same top four as well.
Claire: North Carolina and Michigan State cracking the top 36. Both of those teams are looking sharp, so I’m glad the coaches recognize that.
Emily M: Michigan State at No. 36 jumped out to me right away. I’m happy to see the Spartans make the poll after only competing twice last year, and I agree that they’re a regionals-caliber team.
Katie W: I have to agree with Elizabeth and Tara that I was surprised to see how many total first-place votes there were. I expected Michigan to rank on top, but I did think it would be closer.
Allison: I think I would’ve expected Utah to get a few more first place votes, but overall, I definitely agree with the teams that received first-place votes.
Mary Emma: North Carolina in the top 36! Usually the preseason poll tends to keep about the same teams in the top 36 that were in the top 36 last year, so it’s good to see the coaches paying attention to teams that finished slightly outside that list.
Are there any surprises?
Elizabeth: I was pleasantly surprised that the poll seems to be mostly sane. We always joke that the coaches phone this ranking in, but I think overall they did a good job for 2022. I also think Missouri should probably be a bit higher, but all those SEC teams landed around where they should be, so I’m not going to complain too much.
Tara: I was surprised to see Nebraska in the top 36. There’s a case for the Huskers, but not a strong one in my opinion.
Ryan: I don’t think I have any surprises with this one. Every time I look to see why a team is ranked so low, I agree with the teams ranked above them. Anyone could slip several spots if they don’t post big scores right out of the gate.
Claire: I’m very surprised by the order of the SEC teams. It feels based on past performances rather than what the teams have shown this preseason.
Emily M: Georgia is too high, in my opinion. The several teams below it have looked more prepared in preseason training and intrasquads. Stanford is also quite low. I know we don’t have a lot of 2021 data to go on, but talent-wise that’s not a No. 33 team.
Katie W: A good surprise for me, but I did not actually think North Carolina would be ranked in the top 36 after last season’s performance since the polls tend to be reflective of the year’s prior rankings.
Allison: I was happy to see Stanford make it into the top 36. I don’t think that program gets enough notice, but I enjoy how they quietly fly around under the radar.
Mary Emma: As I mentioned before, I was pleasantly surprised to see Michigan State and North Carolina in the top 36.
Which of the teams that received votes but missed the top 36 would you swap in? Which top 36 team would you pull out to make space?
Elizabeth: Towson got kind of shafted this year. Sure it lost some good routines, but it has an under-the-radar freshman class that some of our editors are high on. I also think Temple could end up making the top 36, and Rutgers stands to improve as well. I’d probably pull out a team like Nebraska to make it happen.
Tara: I’d pull Nebraska out in favor of a team like Towson—or potentially Rutgers or Western Michigan.
Ryan: I can’t choose! I think Towson and George Washington are both good candidates, but I think all the teams in the top 36 deserve to be there. I guess I’d swap out Michigan State because it’s the last team in.
Claire: I’d pull Nebraska, Washington and Stanford in favor of Temple, Towson and Eastern Michigan.
Emily M: I think Towson and Rutgers both have a shot at regionals. The teams I’d pull are probably Nebraska and maybe maybe Arizona.
Katie W: Nebraska did not look good at its preseason intrasquad, and I don’t have much faith for Stanford or Washington heading into 2022. I had Towson, Temple and Eastern Michigan all making the top 36 in my preseason poll.
Allison: Definitely agree about Towson, and I’d add in New Hampshire, so I’d probably swap out Washington or Michigan State.
Mary Emma: Towson for sure. It finished well into the top 36 last year and returns most of its routines, so I don’t understand why so many people are sleeping on it. Temple, Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan were also teams that I had in my top 36 (that made regionals last year) but weren’t top 36 in the coaches poll. In my list, I didn’t have Stanford, Utah State, Maryland or Nebraska in my top 36.
Finally, how does the poll differ from your own?
Elizabeth: The coaches and I actually align pretty well with our opinion on teams for 2022. I would make minor shifts here and there, but for the most part my ranking is pretty similar. I did have Florida No. 1 and Utah No. 2, but there’s certainly a case to be made for the order here.
Tara: I would say overall they’re pretty similar, though there is definitely a fair share of differences. I had the same teams in the top four, but I had a different order for Nos. 2 through 4. Like Elizabeth said, there’s a case to be made for the order, and I definitely debated it quite a bit when doing my ranking. I also had Alabama ahead of LSU and a slightly different order of the other SEC teams; I was definitely higher on Arkansas and Missouri than the coaches and lower on Georgia. I also had Boise State and Southern Utah a couple spots higher and had a team between them and Utah State. Finally, my regional bubble teams are slightly different, but that’s almost to be expected since those teams are so up in the air until the final weekend.
Ryan: I did have Florida as my No. 1, but I have more of an issue with Oklahoma being ranked ahead of Utah. I think I had Alabama just outside the nationals qualifiers with Minnesota swapped in, but I’m not entirely sure I agree with myself there. I had Iowa State up in the top 15 as well. There’s just so much depth on that team!
Claire: The biggest difference is where I put all of the SEC teams, but I also have a heavier MAC and EAGL presence in the back half of my ranking.
Emily M: The general vibe is very similar! I left North Carolina out, which I regret especially after seeing the Tar Heels’ intrasquad.
Katie W: I had Georgia ranked pretty high in my preseason poll as my wildcard pick, and I would definitely change it to align more with the coaches poll. Overall, the polls are pretty similar to my own, but I did have Florida ranked at No. 1 and Michigan ranked at No. 3. I also left UCLA out of nationals and had Denver in my top eight instead.
Allison: I had New Hampshire in place of Michigan State. I think UNH put in some solid work over the past few seasons and it’s going to surprise some people.
Mary Emma: Like Claire, I put more EAGL and MAC teams in my top 36 instead of some more “famous” Big Four conference teams that ended up in the coaches’ top 36.
READ THIS NEXT: CGN Roundtable: On Our 2022 Preseason Poll
Article by Elizabeth Grimsley, Tara Graeve, Ryan Wichtendahl, Claire Billman, Emily Minehart, Katie Walsh, Allison Freeman, Mary Emma Burton
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