Defending National Champions Selected No.1 in Preseason Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Defending national champion Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) opens the season ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Warriors claimed all 17 first-place votes and 467 total points en route to the top spot.
Top 25 Highlights (information dates back to 2000)
• Lewis-Clark State enters the 2018 season coming off its third-straight and 19th all-time World Series title. The Warriors defeated No. 2 Faulkner (Ala.), 6-4, in the title game.
• Lewis-Clark State has held the No. 1 ranking in the preseason poll three-straight seasons.
• The Warriors own the longest active streak in the Top 25 at 164-straight mentions.
• No. 21 St. Thomas (Fla.) is the lone newcomer to the Top 25. The Bobcats, who finished last season with a 35-19 record, were picked to finish third in the 2018 The Sun Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
• Lewis-Clark State leads all active members with 60 total No. 1 mentions, dating back to 2000. Ten other teams have been ranked No. 1 in at least two polls: No. 3 Oklahoma City (34), No. 2 Faulkner (13), former member Lubbock Christian (Texas) (13), former member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (11), No. 12 Georgia Gwinnett (8), LSU Shreveport (La.) (6), former member Lee (Tenn.) (6), Cumberland (Tenn.) (6) and No. 13 Tennessee Wesleyan (2).
• The Sun Conference leads all leagues with four teams represented – No. 4 Southeastern (Fla.), No. 10 Keiser (Fla.), St. Thomas and No. 25 Webber International (Fla.)
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”
• The frequency of the polls is bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) prior to the 2016-17 academic season. This change allows raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work between rating periods.
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
2017 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll (November 7, 2017)
| RANK |
PRVS* |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2017 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (17) |
40-14 |
467 |
| 2 |
2 |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
54-12 |
452 |
| 3 |
3 |
Oklahoma City |
50-10 |
434 |
| 4 |
12 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
50-11 |
392 |
| 5 |
9 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
50-9 |
385 |
| T6 |
4 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
45-20 |
380 |
| T6 |
6 |
Missouri Baptist |
45-16 |
380 |
| 8 |
10 |
Hope International (Calif.) |
35-18 |
352 |
| 9 |
11 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
51-11 |
341 |
| 10 |
7 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
43-21 |
337 |
| 11 |
8 |
Science & Arts (Okla.) |
45-17 |
319 |
| 12 |
14 |
Georgia Gwinnett |
40-21 |
296 |
| 13 |
18 |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
41-20 |
275 |
| 14 |
5 |
The Master’s (Calif.) |
41-23 |
270 |
| 15 |
13 |
Middle Georgia State |
46-16 |
250 |
| 16 |
17 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
44-17 |
241 |
| 17 |
19 |
Clarke (Iowa) |
46-14 |
239 |
| 18 |
16 |
University of Northwestern Ohio |
44-12 |
230 |
| 19 |
15 |
IU Southeast (Ind.) |
48-15 |
215 |
| 20 |
22 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
36-21 |
158 |
| 21 |
RV |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
35-19 |
154 |
| 22 |
T20 |
Indiana Tech |
44-14 |
144 |
| 23 |
23 |
Texas Wesleyan |
47-15 |
137 |
| 24 |
25 |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
42-17 |
105 |
| 25 |
24 |
Webber International (Fla.) |
39-17 |
72 |
Others receiving votes: LSU Shreveport (La.) 65; Huntington (Ind.) 53; Jamestown (N.D.) 51; Bryan (Tenn.) 43; Cumberlands (Ky.) 42; Vanguard (Calif.) 36; Friends (Kan.) 25; Antelope Valley (Calif.) 17; Concordia (Neb.) 17; Concordia (Mich.) 6; Westmont (Calif.) 4; Judson (Ill.) 3.