2015 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 4 (Oct. 13)
By Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The fourth regular-season edition of the 2015 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll has been announced Tuesday by the national office. For the fourth-straight week, Rio Grande (Ohio) claims the No. 1 ranking. The fourth regular-season edition will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 20 and the 2nd installment of the MRPI will be announced Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• Top-ranked Rio Grande (Ohio) gathered 17-of-18 first-place votes and 498 total points. After dropping their first contest on Oct. 3 after an 11-0-0 start, the RedStorm have won the last two matches by an 11-0 margin.
• Rio Grande leads the NAIA with 13 victories. Overall, there are 18 programs with at least 10 wins.
• With a 10-1-1 mark, No. 2 Davenport (Mich.) posted the remaining first-place vote. The defending national champion is riding a 10-match win streak.
• No. 3 Oklahoma Wesleyan, No. 4 Baker (Kan.) and No. 5 Northwestern Ohio all slide up one spot after former-No. 3 Vanguard (Calif.) lost last week to No. 17 The Master’s (Calif.).
• The RedStorm landed the No. 1 spot for the fourth-consecutive time and ninth occasion in the last 11 polls, dating back to last year.
• Davenport is trying to become the first team to be ranked preseason No. 1 and win the national championship in the same season since Lindsey Wilson did it in 2001.
• Rio Grande, Davenport, No. 11 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and The Master’s are the only teams to hold their ranking from Week 3.
• There are still four teams with an undefeated overall record. At this point last week, there were seven programs without a loss.
• No. 15 Park (Mo.) improved eight spots for the best jump within the Top 25. The Pirates are yet to lose a match in 10 events this year (8-0-2). The ranking is the best since a No. 11 status on Oct. 6, 2009.
• No. 23 Lyon (Ark.) dipped the farthest within the poll as the Scots dropped their first decision of the season, 1-0, at then-unranked Columbia (Mo.) on Oct. 10.
• No. 21 Columbia, No. 24 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) and No. 25 WVU Tech (W.Va.) are newcomers this week. Columbia is ranked for the first time since Oct. 15, 2013 (No. 15); the RedHawks are mentioned for the first time since Sept. 30, 2014 (No. 12); and WVU Tech is ranked for the first time in school history.
• Sixteen of the 19 conferences, Association of Independent Institutions (AII) and unaffiliated group were represented this week. The American Midwest Conference and the Heart of America Athletic Conference field the most representatives in the Top 25 with three total. Five other leagues landed a pair of ranked programs.
• Through five polls this year (including Preseason Top 25), there have been 40 different teams to be ranked at least once – 13 teams have held a ranking in each of these polls.
• Rio Grande boasts the most all-time No. 1 rankings with 50, followed by Lindsey Wilson with 48, Bethel (Tenn.) with 11 and Hastings with 10. Overall, 21 different teams have claimed the No. 1 spot in the poll.
• Rio Grande has garnered at least one top ranking in each of the past four seasons and five out of the last six overall.
• Lindsey Wilson is the longest consecutively-ranked active school at 99-straight polls, dating back to the first installment of the 2007 Top 25 Poll (Sept. 5). Rio Grande is next in line with 92-consecutive rankings, followed by Missouri Valley at 59.
• Since 2000, just two teams have spent the entire season ranked No. 1—Bethel in 2009 and Rio Grande in 2004.
Poll Methodology:
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of 19 head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first place vote, 29 for second place and so on through the list.
• The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is a low rating) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the team appears on.
• Teams who receive only one point in the ballot will not be listed in the “Receiving Votes” category.
• The Modified Ratings Percentage Index (MRPI) is a separate ranking conducted on Sept. 30, Oct. 21 and Nov. 16. The MRPI—first adopted in 2010—will select the at-large national championship qualifying teams and seed the 32-team national championship opening round field. Rio Grande (Ohio) topped the first MRPI on Sept. 30.
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click
here.
2015 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll (Oct. 13)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2015 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Rio Grande (Ohio) (17) |
13-1-0 |
498 |
| 2 |
2 |
Davenport (Mich.) (1) |
10-1-1 |
482 |
| 3 |
4 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
9-1-0 |
462 |
| 4 |
5 |
Baker (Kan.) |
11-1-1 |
444 |
| 5 |
6 |
Northwestern Ohio |
9-2-0 |
431 |
| 6 |
3 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
10-2-0 |
416 |
| 7 |
8 |
Thomas (Ga.) |
11-2-0 |
401 |
| 8 |
9 |
Missouri Valley |
9-2-0 |
379 |
| 9 |
13 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
12-0-0 |
368 |
| 10 |
7 |
Corban (Ore.) |
11-1-0 |
346 |
| T11 |
16 |
Union (Ky.) |
11-0-2 |
310 |
| T11 |
11 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
11-3-0 |
310 |
| 13 |
14 |
Ashford (Iowa) |
8-3-1 |
305 |
| 14 |
20 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
12-1-0 |
282 |
| 15 |
23 |
Park (Mo.) |
8-0-2 |
271 |
| 16 |
18 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
9-3-1 |
250 |
| 17 |
17 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
9-3-1 |
239 |
| 18 |
15 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
8-2-3 |
238 |
| 19 |
21 |
Science & Arts (Okla.) |
11-2-0 |
220 |
| 20 |
12 |
Marymount (Calif.) |
7-3-1 |
209 |
| 21 |
RV |
Columbia (Mo.) |
11-2-0 |
174 |
| 22 |
24 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
7-3-1 |
166 |
| 23 |
10 |
Lyon (Ark.) |
9-1-1 |
122 |
| 24 |
RV |
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
8-4-2 |
113 |
| 25 |
RV |
WVU Tech (W.Va.) |
10-0-0 |
88 |
Dropped from rankings: No. 19 Dalton State (Ga.); No. 22 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.); No. 25 Georgia Gwinnett.
Others Receiving Votes: Georgia Gwinnett 79; Roosevelt (Ill.) 77; Mobile (Ala.) 61; Biola (Calif.) 35; Central Methodist (Mo.) 30; Houston-Victoria (Texas) 23; Mount Mercy (Iowa) 20; Campbellsville (Ky.) 16; Southwestern Christian (Okla.) 11; Grace (Ind.) 10; Evergreen (Wash.) 6; Southeastern (Fla.) 3; Jamestown (N.D.) 3; Purdue Calumet (Ind.) 3.