2018 NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll — No. 3 (April 10)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Georgia Gwinnett is voted as the unanimous No. 1 pick in the third regular-season installment of the 2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. Ranked No. 1 for the third-straight poll, the Grizzlies collected all 19 first-place votes for the first time in school history.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
- Georgia Gwinnett posted 529 total points this week.
- With a 35-2 (.946) overall record, the Grizzlies own the second-best win percentage in the NAIA behind second-ranked Marian (Ind.).
- Georgia Gwinnett has won 16-straight games heading into its doubleheader at home vs Reinhardt (Ga.) on Tuesday. The Grizzlies are a perfect 22-0 this year at their home facility.
- Looming in the distance are a pair of twinbills against No. 14 Thomas (Ga.) on April 22 and No. 18 Faulkner (Ala.) on April 24.
- No. 2 Marian stands 23-1 and has now been ranked in the top 10 in each of the last 12 polls dating back to the end of the 2016 season.
- No. 8 Vanguard (Calif.) is the first NAIA team to reach the 40-win threshold. The Lions (41-6) did that on April 7 against San Diego Christian (Calif.).
- The only newcomer this week – No. 22 (tie) Grand View (Iowa) – is on a seven-win streak. The Vikings were ranked in the first regular-season and preseason polls.
- No. 5 Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 132-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch. No. 12 William Carey (Miss.) is second with 95-consecutive mentions, followed by No. 9 (tie) Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at 56-straight.
- Former member California Baptist tops the charts of most all-time No. 1 mentions with 46. Oklahoma City is second all-time with 43, followed by former member Concordia (Calif.) with 24, former member Simon Fraser (B.C.) with 18 and Thomas (Ga.) with 13.
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 bi-weekly.
• For the complete calendar of 2018 Top 25 Polls, click here.
2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll No. 3 (April 10, 2018)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2018 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Georgia Gwinnett (19) |
35-2 |
529 |
| 2 |
3 |
Marian (Ind.) |
23-1 |
503 |
| 3 |
2 |
Science & Arts (Okla.) |
36-3 |
497 |
| 4 |
4 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
29-4 |
482 |
| 5 |
6 |
Oklahoma City |
32-5 |
463 |
| 6 |
15 |
Hope International (Calif.) |
34-4 |
429 |
| 7 |
13 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
31-8 |
388 |
| 8 |
5 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
41-6 |
384 |
| T9 |
14 |
Southern Oregon |
29-9 |
380 |
| T9 |
11 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
29-6 |
380 |
| 11 |
12 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
30-5 |
375 |
| 12 |
9 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
26-8 |
332 |
| 13 |
7 |
Corban (Ore.) |
23-8 |
318 |
| 14 |
10 |
Thomas (Ga.) |
25-9 |
315 |
| 15 |
8 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
16-9 |
285 |
| 16 |
16 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
29-6 |
281 |
| 17 |
18 |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
23-4 |
276 |
| 18 |
21 |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
31-7 |
228 |
| 19 |
17 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
16-6 |
220 |
| 20 |
22 |
Warner (Fla.) |
26-9 |
217 |
| 21 |
19 |
Brenau (Ga.) |
20-11 |
177 |
| T22 |
NR |
Grand View (Iowa) |
20-4 |
141 |
| T22 |
24 |
Oregon Tech |
24-9 |
141 |
| 24 |
20 |
Ottawa (Kan.) |
24-10 |
122 |
| T25 |
25 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
15-8 |
86 |
| T25 |
23 |
Baker (Kan.) |
25-6 |
86 |
|
Others Receiving Votes: Rio Grande (Ohio) 61; Valley City State (N.D.) 58; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 53; Southeastern (Fla.) 43; Georgetown (Ky.) 31; Texas Wesleyan 28; Aquinas (Mich.) 19; Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 16; LSU Alexandria (La.) 12; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 9; Cumberland (Tenn.) 6; Northwestern (Iowa) 3.