2018 NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll — Final
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Faulkner (Ala.) ends the 2018 regular-season on top, as the Eagles claim a fifth-straight No. 1 ranking in the 2018 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. Faulkner claimed 17-of-18 first-place votes and 498 total points.
The final coaches’ poll is one of the tools used by the Baseball National Championship Selection Committee when selecting this year’s at-large teams. The 2018 Baseball National Championship Opening Round qualifiers and brackets will be announced Thursday, May 10, at 3 p.m. CDT on the NAIA Facebook page.
Top 25 Highlights (information dates back to 2000)
• The No. 1 ranking is the 18th in program history for the Eagles.
• Faulkner ended the regular-season with a 47-6 record, including a 20-4 mark in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC). The Eagles are the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and play Loyola (La.) Wednesday.
• No. 3 St. Thomas (Fla.) claimed the other first-place vote in the edition. The Bobcats have gone 36-2 since the beginning of March en route to a 49-5 overall record.
• No. 24 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) is the lone newcomer to the Top 25. The Lions (36-14) are the No. 2 seed in the upcoming American Midwest Conference tournament.
• No. 6 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 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: Oklahoma City (34), Faulkner (18), former member Lubbock Christian (Texas) (13), former member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (11), Georgia Gwinnett (8), LSU Shreveport (La.) (6), former member Lee (Tenn.) (6), Cumberland (Tenn.) (6) and Tennessee Wesleyan (2).
• The SSAC, Sooner Athletic Conference and The Sun Conference lead all leagues with three teams each in the Top 25.
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 rating) 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 appear on.
• Teams that receive only one point on 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.
2018 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Final (May 1, 2018)
| RANK |
PRVS* |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Faulkner (Ala.) (17) |
47-6 |
498 |
| 2 |
2 |
Georgia Gwinnett |
40-8 |
481 |
| 3 |
4 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) (1) |
49-5 |
467 |
| 4 |
3 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
50-5 |
447 |
| 5 |
5 |
Oklahoma City |
42-5 |
437 |
| 6 |
7 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
37-10 |
404 |
| 7 |
5 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
47-6 |
402 |
| 8 |
8 |
Science & Arts (Okla.) |
41-6 |
397 |
| 9 |
10 |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
38-13 |
364 |
| 10 |
9 |
William Jessup (Calif.) |
35-15 |
342 |
| 11 |
13 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
44-7 |
330 |
| 12 |
14 |
Middle Georgia State |
40-15 |
328 |
| 13 |
12 |
Lyon (Ark.) |
34-13 |
304 |
| 14 |
11 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
40-13 |
295 |
| 15 |
16 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
37-15 |
248 |
| 16 |
15 |
Point Park (Pa.) |
41-7 |
243 |
| 17 |
18 |
Antelope Valley (Calif.) |
38-11-1 |
238 |
| 18 |
16 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
39-7 |
219 |
| 19 |
23 |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
34-18 |
215 |
| 20 |
25 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
33-14 |
172 |
| 21 |
21 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
32-15 |
169 |
| 22 |
22 |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
37-12 |
166 |
| 23 |
20 |
Texas Wesleyan |
33-14 |
120 |
| 24 |
RV |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
36-14 |
108 |
| 25 |
24 |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
36-18 |
103 |
Dropped from the Top 25 Poll: William Carey (Miss.) (No. 19)
Others receiving votes: Indiana Tech 93; William Carey (Miss.) 80; IU Southeast (Ind.) 74; Reinhardt (Ga.) 42; Mayville State (N.D.) 29; University of Northwestern Ohio 28; Webber International (Fla.) 26; Cumberland (Tenn.) 23; Tabor (Kan.) 19; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 4; Bellevue (Neb.) 4; Texas A&M Texarkana 3; Indiana Wesleyan 3.