2015 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 6 (April 14)
LCSC No.18, UBC RV,
By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Faulkner (Ala.) tops the sixth regular-season edition of the 2015 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced
Tuesday. The Eagles, who are list No. 1 for the third-straight week and seventh all-time, claimed 18-of-21 possible first-place votes and 589 total points.
Faulkner, which enters the season searching for their second national championship in the last three seasons, enters
Tuesday with a 38-8 overall record after sweeping a 3-game series from Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) rival Belhaven (Miss.) over the weekend. The series win for the Eagles is their third-straight in conference play.
Nos. 2 – 4 did not change this week, as No. 2 Davenport (Mich.), No. 3 Northwood (Fla.) and No. 4 Oklahoma City make up the trio. The Panthers received two of the three remaining first-place votes, while Northwood accrued the final top-vote.
Davenport boasts a 36-3 record to claim the NAIA’s best winning percentage at .923. The Panthers have won 27 of their last 28 games with their only loss during the stretch coming at Indiana Tech, 11-5, on April 11. They previously had not lost since
Feb. 27.
No. 12 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), which highlights the positive movement in the poll this week with a two-spot jump, rests atop the SSAC with a 23-1 record. The Warhawks have won 17 of their last 20 games and return to the field
Wednesday against Thomas (Ga.).
Bellevue (Neb.) dropped the farthest within the poll, falling from No. 13 to No. 17 after losing 3-of-4 over the weekend against No. 8 Oklahoma Wesleyan.
No. 24 Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) is the only newcomer. The Cougars were last ranked in the March 17
th edition.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, the Association of Independent Institutions and the NAIA West Group. The sixth regular-season edition will be released on April 14.
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Notes (all information dates back to 2000): Faulkner, the 2013 World Series champion, holds the No. 1 ranking for the third-straight week … No. 7 Oklahoma Baptist held the top-spot for three weeks prior … Three teams have been ranked No. 1 this season – Faulkner, Oklahoma Baptist and Cumberland (Tenn.) … Ten different teams have held the No. 1 ranking since 2000 … No. 18 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) leads all programs with 53 top mentions, while No. 4 Oklahoma City is second with 31 … Eight other teams have been ranked No. 1 in at least two polls: former member Lubbock Christian (Texas) (13), Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (11), Faulkner (7), LSU Shreveport (La.) (6), former member Lee (Tenn.) (6), Cumberland (6) and Tennessee Wesleyan (2) … Lewis-Clark State has been ranked in a NAIA-best 142-straight polls.
2015 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 6 (April 14)
|
RANK |
PRVS |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2015 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Faulkner (Ala.) (18) |
38-8 |
589 |
|
2 |
2 |
Davenport (Mich.) (2) |
36-3 |
563 |
|
3 |
3 |
Northwood (Fla.) (1) |
37-8 |
558 |
|
4 |
4 |
Oklahoma City |
30-9 |
512 |
|
5 |
6 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
37-7 |
508 |
|
6 |
5 |
Georgia Gwinnett |
37-8 |
496 |
|
7 |
7 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
39-4 |
484 |
|
8 |
8 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
37-8 |
465 |
|
9 |
10 |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
33-9 |
436 |
|
10 |
8 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
38-8 |
428 |
|
11 |
11 |
Missouri Baptist |
30-6 |
403 |
|
12 |
14 |
Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) |
32-12 |
382 |
|
13 |
12 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
33-10 |
354 |
|
14 |
15 |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
32-10 |
327 |
|
15 |
16 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
22-6 |
310 |
|
16 |
17 |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
30-13 |
301 |
|
17 |
13 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
33-10 |
295 |
|
18 |
19 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
31-10 |
275 |
|
19 |
18 |
Concordia (Calif.) |
36-11 |
274 |
|
20 |
20 |
Sterling (Kan.) |
33-11 |
226 |
|
21 |
21 |
Point Park (Pa.) |
29-6 |
204 |
|
22 |
23 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
34-12 |
197 |
|
23 |
24 |
Northwestern Ohio |
32-8 |
173 |
|
24 |
RV |
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) |
22-6 |
130 |
|
25 |
22 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
30-14 |
120 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Others receiving votes: Vanguard (Calif.) 64
; Peru State (Neb.) 61; St. Catharine (Ky.) 49;
British Columbia 46; LSU Alexandria 41 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 37; York (Neb.) 33; Southeastern (Fla.) 22; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 16; Doane (Neb.) 12; Union (Ky.) 10; Madonna (Mich.) 6; Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 5.