2017 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll — No. 1 (March 7)
By Chad Waller, Director of Athletics Communications and Sports Media
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the 11th time in program history, Faulkner (Ala.) claims the No. 1 position in the 2017 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Eagles gathered all 18 first-place nods to go along with 498 total points in the first regular-season edition. The second regular-season ranking is scheduled to be released on March 21.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000)
• Faulkner (Ala.) boasts the No. 1 ranking for the first time since March 22, 2016. The Eagles have now tallied 11 all-time top mentions, with a No. 1 position at least once in each of the past five seasons.
• The 20 wins accomplished by Faulkner this year is tied for second most in the NAIA – through games played Sunday, March 5. No. 24 Reinhardt (Ga.) leads the nation with 22 victories.
• Next up is a contest with No. 10 Tennessee Wesleyan on Wednesday.
• Vaulting up from the preseason unranked category, No. 2 (tie) Oklahoma Wesleyan claims 466 points this poll. The Eagles are fans of the long ball, ranking No. 2 in the NAIA in home runs per game (1.9) and third in slugging percentage (.620).
• Tied with Oklahoma Wesleyan, No. 3 Georgia Gwinnett moves up after holding a No. 5 preseason ranking.
• No. 4 Oklahoma City jumps into the Top 25 after a non-ranking in the preseason edition.
• No. 5 Keiser (Fla.), improving 10 spots, rounds out the top five.
• Preseason No. 1 and defending national champion Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) was marked in the No. 8 slot in this edition.
• No teams held their same ranking from the Preseason Top 25
• Nine newcomers joined the Top 25 this week, which was highlighted by No. 2 (tie) Oklahoma Wesleyan and No. 4 Oklahoma City. No. 6 Menlo (Calif) and No. 7 Southeastern (Fla.) also jump into the top 10 after a non-preseason ranking.
• Lewis-Clark State leads all active members with 58 total No. 1 mentions, dating back to 2000. Ten other teams have been ranked No. 1 in at least two polls: Oklahoma City (32), former member Lubbock Christian (Texas) (13), former member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (11), Faulkner (11), Georgia Gwinnett (8), LSU Shreveport (La.) (6), former member Lee (Tenn.) (6), Cumberland (Tenn.) (6) and Tennessee Wesleyan (2).
• Three teams held the No. 1 ranking in 2016: Faulkner (twice), Georgia Gwinnett (seven times) and Lewis-Clark State (twice).
• The Southern States Athletic Conference leads all leagues with four teams represented: No. 1 Faulkner, No. 12 William Carey (Miss.), No. 19 Middle Georgia State and No. 25 Mobile (Ala.). The Appalachian Athletic Conference, Golden State Athletic Conference and The Sun Conference each send three Top 25 teams into the poll. Overall, 14 of the 18 conferences are represented this week.
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”
• Frequency of polls occur by-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) for the 2016-17 academic season. This change allows raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work between ratings periods.
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
2017 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll (March 7) – No. 1
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2017 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
2 |
Faulkner (Ala.) (18) |
20-2 |
498 |
| T2 |
RV |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
18-3 |
466 |
| T2 |
5 |
Georgia Gwinnett |
16-5 |
466 |
| 4 |
RV |
Oklahoma City |
20-4 |
448 |
| 5 |
15 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
16-5-1 |
431 |
| 6 |
NR |
Menlo (Calif.) |
17-2 |
395 |
| 7 |
RV |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
19-1 |
380 |
| 8 |
1 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
6-4 |
366 |
| 9 |
10 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
15-4 |
361 |
| 10 |
4 |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
12-7 |
350 |
| 11 |
NR |
Clarke (Iowa) |
10-1 |
342 |
| 12 |
23 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
15-4 |
333 |
| 13 |
RV |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
15-4 |
295 |
| 14 |
RV |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
16-5 |
270 |
| 15 |
6 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
11-7 |
269 |
| 16 |
20 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
16-8 |
230 |
| 17 |
7 |
Science & Arts (Okla.) |
16-7 |
226 |
| 18 |
3 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
7-6 |
210 |
| 19 |
17 |
Middle Georgia State |
17-6 |
207 |
| 20 |
19 |
Northwestern Ohio |
17-9 |
202 |
| 21 |
8 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
11-4 |
189 |
| 22 |
12 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
12-6 |
166 |
| 23 |
24 |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
12-7 |
137 |
| 24 |
NR |
Reinhardt (Ga.) |
22-4 |
90 |
| 25 |
NR |
Mobile (Ala.) |
15-4 |
89 |
Dropped from Top 25: No. 9 Missouri Baptist, No. 11 The Master’s (Calif.), No. 13 York (Neb.), No. 14 Campbellsville (Ky.), No. 16 Jamestown (N.D.), No. 18 USC Beaufort (S.C.), No. 20 (tie) Wayland Baptist (Texas), No. 22 IU Southeast (Ind.), No. 25 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
Others receiving votes: Indiana Tech 80; Jamestown (N.D.) 66; Webber International (Fla.) 65; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 52; Georgetown (Ky.) 50; Midland (Neb.) 49; Missouri Baptist 36; York (Neb.) 35; British Columbia 20; Texas Wesleyan 16; Central Methodist (Mo.) 9; USC Beaufort (S.C.) 7; Davenport (Mich.) 6; Truett-McConnell (Ga.) 6; Rio Grande (Ohio) 5; Cumberlands (Ky.) 3.
^From the 2017 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll (Nov. 8, 2016)