2016 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – April 12 (No. 4)
By: Chad Waller, Director of Communications and Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the most wins in the NAIA at 44-1, Oklahoma City claims the top raking in the fourth regular-season edition of the 2016 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. The fifth regular-season Top 25 edition will be announced April 19.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• Oklahoma City holds the No. 1 ranking for the second-straight week and 30th time overall. The Stars stand second on the all-time list of No. 1 rankings trailing former member California Baptist by 16 (46).
• The Stars collected 17 first-place votes and 528 total points.
• Oklahoma City leads the NAIA in total wins (44) and is on a 15-game win streak.
• Oklahoma City does battle Tuesday with No. 2-ranked St. Gregory’s (Okla.). Both clubs have a single loss in Sooner Athletic Conference action, but St. Gregory’s holds a two-game edge with a 19-1 league mark compared to 15-1 for the Stars. The Cavaliers handed Oklahoma City its only loss of the year back on March 22.
• With 506 total points, St. Gregory’s boasts its highest ranking in school history. The Cavaliers are sporting a 16-game win streak. During that stretch, they have posted 10-or-more runs in six games.
• Sliding down one spot is No. 3 Auburn Montgomery (ala.). The defending national champion corralled the remaining two-first-place votes.
• No. 4 Campbellsville (Ky.) and No. 5 Saint Xavier (Ill.) flip positions from last week. Both programs have been in the top five in each of the last four polls.
• No. 18 Southern Oregon enjoys the best jump within the Top 25, improving seven spots. The Raiders have won seven of their last eight contests to improve to 28-12 overall.
• No. 24 Oregon Tech falls five positions for the largest tumble.
• No. 23 Brenau (Ga.) is the lone rookie this week. The Tigers, who stand 21-16 on the year, are ranked for the first time since March 17, 2015 (No. 21). Brenau is on a five-game winning streak after sweeping defending national champion and No. 3 Auburn Montgomery on April 9.
• No. 9 LSU Alexandria (La.) has now been in the top 10 in 24-straight polls dating back to 2014.
• Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 116-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch, which goes back to the start of the 2004 season. William Carey (Miss.) is second with 79-consecutive mentions. Next in line for consecutive streaks is Auburn Montgomery at 45-straight; St. Gregory’s at 43 and Lindsey Wilson at 40.
• Former member California Baptist tops the charts of most all-time No. 1 mentions with 46. Oklahoma City is second all-time with 30, followed by former member Concordia (Calif.) with 24, Simon Fraser (B.C.) with 18 and Thomas (Ga.) with 13.
• Seventeen of 19 conferences are represented in the poll this week.
• The Southern States Athletic Conference leads all leagues with four schools representing: Auburn Montgomery, No. 6 William Carey, No. 13 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) and Brenau. Overall, six conferences send multiple schools into the Top 25.
• Through five polls this year (including Preseason), there have been 38 different ranked teams.
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 calendar of 2016 Top 25 Polls, click
here.
2016 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – April 12 (No. 4)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2016 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Oklahoma City (17) |
44-1 |
528 |
| 2 |
3 |
St. Gregory's (Okla.) |
33-3 |
506 |
| 3 |
2 |
Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) (2) |
36-5 |
494 |
| 4 |
5 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
37-7 |
473 |
| 5 |
4 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
24-4 |
472 |
| 6 |
7 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
28-11 |
444 |
| 7 |
8 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
30-10 |
416 |
| 8 |
9 |
Simpson (Calif.) |
20-3 |
397 |
| 9 |
6 |
LSU Alexandria |
32-9 |
392 |
| 10 |
10 |
Georgia Gwinnett |
35-13 |
374 |
| 11 |
11 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
22-7 |
366 |
| 12 |
12 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
32-10 |
353 |
| 13 |
13 |
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
34-11 |
320 |
| 14 |
14 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
28-6 |
306 |
| 15 |
15 |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
26-7 |
280 |
| 16 |
16 |
Reinhardt (Ga.) |
33-10 |
279 |
| 17 |
20 |
Marian (Ind.) |
22-6 |
229 |
| 18 |
25 |
Southern Oregon |
28-12 |
212 |
| 19 |
23 |
Grand View (Iowa) |
30-6 |
204 |
| 20 |
21 |
Houston-Victoria (Texas) |
30-10 |
189 |
| 21 |
18 |
Arizona Christian |
29-13-1 |
183 |
| 22 |
22 |
Williams Baptist (Ark.) |
25-12 |
139 |
| 23 |
NR |
Brenau (Ga.) |
21-16 |
136 |
| 24 |
19 |
Oregon Tech |
22-15 |
121 |
| 25 |
24 |
San Diego Christian (Calif.) |
26-11 |
113 |
Dropped from rankings: No. 17 Mobile (Ala.).
Others Receiving Votes: Rio Grande (Ohio) 109; Friends (Kan.) 72; Mobile (Ala.) 66; Indiana Wesleyan 63;
Corban (Ore.) 39; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 24; Evangel (Mo.) 21; Menlo (Calif.) 8; Georgetown (Ky.) 8; Indiana Southeast 6; Doane (Neb.) 6; Concordia (Neb.) 5; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 3; Science & Arts (Okla.) 3; Bellevue (Neb.) 3.