2015-16 NAIA Men’s Golf Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 3 (March 25)
By Chad Waller, Director of Communications and Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Wayland Baptist (Texas) is the new No. 1 men’s golf program, announced Friday in the 2015-16 NAIA Men’s Golf Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The fourth regular-season installment will be conducted on April 8, 2016.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• With 15 first-place votes and 495 total points, Wayland Baptist (Texas) is this week’s new No. 1-ranked program. The Pioneers last held this position on May 1, 2014 – which was the end of a five-week reign on top of the poll.
• Continually rising up the charts to the No. 1 spot this year, Wayland Baptist started the preseason at No. 7.
• In four polls this year (which includes Preseason), there have now been four different No. 1 teams: Coastal Georgia, Keiser (Fla.), Johnson & Wales (Fla.) and now Wayland Baptist.
• Last week’s top-ranked team, Johnson & Wales, drops down to No. 2 in this edition. The Wildcats captured the remaining three first-place nods.
• No. 25 Thomas (Ga.) is the lone rookie this week. The NightHawks last held a No. 17 ranking during the Preseason Top 25 (Aug. 28, 2015).
• No. 10 Southeastern (Fla.) and No. 16 Dalton State (Ga.) both enjoyed the most improvement within the poll, sliding up five spots.
• Twelve of 20 conferences and Unaffiliated Groups are represented this week in the Top 25. The Sun Conference is the leader with six ranked programs, following by the Southern States Athletic Conference and the Unaffiliated Group (RRAC/SAC) with three Top 25 schools.
• Oklahoma City leads the NAIA with 39 all-time No. 1 rankings, followed by former member Oklahoma Christian (28) and Texas Wesleyan. Wayland Baptist (Texas) is next with six No. 1 spots and Coastal Georgia with five.
• In 2015, Coastal Georgia, Oklahoma City, and William Woods held the No. 1 spot at least once during the season. There have been 11 teams all-time to have held the top position at least once.
• Oklahoma City is the only Preseason No. 1 team to go on to win the national championship during the same season – 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2010.
Poll Methodology
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
• 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 considered a low ratings) 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 teams appears on.
• Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click
here.
2015-16 NAIA Men’s Golf Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 3 (March 25)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
3 |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) (15) |
495 |
| 2 |
1 |
Johnson & Wales (Fla.) (3) |
480 |
| 3 |
4 |
Coastal Georgia |
448 |
| 4 |
2 |
William Woods (Mo.) |
440 |
| 5 |
6 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
437 |
| 6 |
7 |
Oklahoma City |
432 |
| 7 |
8 |
Texas Wesleyan |
401 |
| 8 |
5 |
British Columbia |
387 |
| 9 |
9 |
Grand View (Iowa) |
371 |
| 10 |
15 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
322 |
| 11 |
9 |
Arizona Christian |
318 |
| 12 |
11 |
Victoria (B.C.) |
317 |
| 13 |
16 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
305 |
| 14 |
13 |
Webber International (Fla.) |
279 |
| 15 |
12 |
Marian (Ind.) |
274 |
| 16 |
21 |
Dalton State (Ga.) |
258 |
| 17 |
18 |
USC Beaufort (S.C.) |
234 |
| 18 |
17 |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
218 |
| 19 |
20 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
216 |
| 20 |
24 |
Mount Mercy (Iowa) |
203 |
| 21 |
14 |
Oregon Tech |
192 |
| 22 |
19 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
180 |
| 23 |
23 |
Taylor (Ind.) |
152 |
| 24 |
25 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
136 |
| 25 |
NR |
Thomas (Ga.) |
80 |
Dropped from the Top 25: No. 22 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.).
Others receiving votes: Mobile (Ala.) 64; Reinhardt (Ga.) 63; Cumberland (Tenn.) 50; William Jessup (Calif.) 48; Warner (Fla.) 32; Bellevue (Neb.) 30; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 27; St. Thomas (Fla.) 21; St. Gregory's (Okla.) 19; Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 11; Tennessee Wesleyan 8; Northwestern (Iowa) 4.