2016 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Sept. 20
CRB No.11, RMC No. 25
By Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the first regular-season edition, the Eagles of Oklahoma Wesleyan claim their first-ever No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. With 11 first-place votes, Oklahoma Wesleyan moves up from No. 6 in the preseason installment on Aug. 16.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• No. 1 Oklahoma Wesleyan garnered the top ranking for the first time in school history. The Eagles compiled 11 first-place votes and 462 total points. The previous best ranking was No. 2 during the 2015 season on several occasions, with the last coming Nov. 15.
• With a 4-0-1 record this year, the Eagles have the second-longest active win streak in NAIA Men’s Soccer. Since September of 2015, Oklahoma Wesleyan has gone 18-0-2 during that period. The last loss was at the hands of John Brown (Ark.) on Sept. 22, 2015.
• Oklahoma Wesleyan has already defeated three Top 25 opponents, with the last one coming in the NAIA Match of the Week – a 3-0 victory over then-No. 16 Science & Arts (Okla.) on Sept. 17. Next up on the schedule is No. 23 Southwestern Christian (Okla.) Saturday.
• Defending national champion and Preseason No. 1 Rio Grande (Ohio) drops down one spot to the second position with 452 total points. The RedStorm, who are 7-1-0 on the year, gathered five first-place votes.
• Improving two spots, No. 3 Davenport (Mich.) stands with 423 points. The Panthers are 5-1-0 overall.
• No. 4 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), with a 4-1-1 record, collected 411 points.
• Rounding out the top five, No. 5 Hastings (Neb.) vaults all the way up from a No. 25 preseason spot. The improvement is the largest within the poll. The Broncos have sprinted out to a 7-0-0 start with wins over then-No. 10 Baker (Kan.), No. 16 Science & Arts, then-No. 17 Bellevue (Neb.) and then-No. 24 Lyon (Ark.). Hastings grabbed the remaining first-place vote to go along with 405 points.
• No. 9 Campbellsville (Ky.) currently is on the NAIA’s longest active undefeated streak at 21 matches (19-0-2). The Tigers are 5-0-0 this year and next take on Marian (Ind.) Tuesday.
• No. 10 Baker and No. 13 Union (Ky.) are the only teams to hold their spot from the preseason.
• Seven teams are newcomers in the first regular-season edition, compared to the Preseason Top 25.
• No. 6 Thomas (Ga.) is a highlight within the group of newcomers. The Night Hawks are off to a 6-0-1 start, with wins over Top 25 foes Bellevue and then-No. 23 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.).
• Fourteen of the 19 conferences are represented this week. The Heart of America Athletic Conference lands the most teams in the Top 25 with four: No. 4 MidAmerica Nazarene, No. 10 Baker, No. 14 Grand View (Iowa) and No. 17 Missouri Valley.
• Overall, eight leagues send multiple teams into the Top 25.
• Rio Grande (Ohio) leads the all-time list of No. 1 rankings with 57.
• With the addition of Oklahoma Wesleyan to the list of all-time No. 1-ranked teams, 21 different teams have now been ranked No. 1 at some point in program history for the NAIA.
• Rio Grande is trying to become the first time to be ranked preseason No. 1 and win the national championship in the same season since Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) did it in 2001
• Last season, there were 44 different teams to be ranked at least once – eight teams appeared on each poll last season, including the preseason poll
• Lindsey Wilson is the longest consecutively-ranked active school at 97-straight polls, dating back to the first installment of the 2007 Top 25 Poll (Sept. 5) and Rio Grande is next in line with 90-consecutive rankings, followed by Missouri Valley at 57.
Poll Methodology
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions 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 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”
• Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) for the 2016-17 academic season. This change will allow raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work in between rating periods.
• For the complete men’s soccer ratings calendar, click
here.
2016 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll - No. 1 (Sept. 20)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2016 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
6 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan (11) |
4-0-1 |
462 |
| 2 |
1 |
Rio Grande (Ohio) (5) |
7-1-0 |
452 |
| 3 |
5 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
5-1-0 |
423 |
| 4 |
2 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
4-1-1 |
411 |
| 5 |
25 |
Hastings (Neb.) (1) |
7-0-0 |
405 |
| 6 |
RV |
Thomas (Ga.) |
6-0-1 |
390 |
| 7 |
18 |
Northwestern Ohio |
4-1-1 |
386 |
| 8 |
14 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
5-0-0 |
372 |
| 9 |
12 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
5-0-0 |
350 |
| 10 |
10 |
Baker (Kan.) |
5-2-0 |
333 |
| 11 |
20 |
Corban (Ore.) |
7-0-0 |
323 |
| 12 |
11 |
Biola (Calif.) |
5-1-0 |
310 |
| 13 |
13 |
Union (Ky.) |
6-2-0 |
274 |
| 14 |
RV |
Grand View (Iowa) |
4-1-1 |
259 |
| 15 |
RV |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
6-0-0 |
209 |
| 16 |
9 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
5-2-0 |
206 |
| 17 |
3 |
Missouri Valley |
3-2-1 |
198 |
| 18 |
NR |
John Brown (Ark.) |
4-1-1 |
197 |
| 19 |
23 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
4-2-0 |
188 |
| 20 |
4 |
Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) |
3-3-0 |
152 |
| 21 |
RV |
WVU Tech |
5-1-1 |
150 |
| 22 |
21 |
Marymount (Calif.) |
3-2-1 |
140 |
| 23 |
NR |
Southwestern Christian (Okla.) |
6-1-0 |
120 |
| 24 |
NR |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
5-0-1 |
83 |
| 25 |
8 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
3-2-0 |
81 |
Others Receiving Votes: Columbia (Mo.) 75; William Carey (Miss.) 74; Cumberland (Tenn.) 68; Westmont (Calif.) 61; Midland (Neb.) 58; Southeastern (Fla.) 43; Spring Arbor (Mich.) 37; McPherson (Kan.) 34; Reinhardt (Ga.) 23; Madonna (Mich.) 23; Johnson & Wales (Colo.) 20; The Master's (Calif.) 10; Middle Georgia State 7.