2021 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll (November 4, 2020)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After just one regular season poll a year ago, Southeastern (Fla.) returns to the top spot in the preseason edition of the Top 25 for the 2021 season. Science & Arts (Okla.) garnered two first place votes in the No. 2 spot while Georgia Gwinnett, St. Thomas (Fla.) and Tennessee Wesleyan rounded-out the top five.
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.
2021 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll (November 4, 2020)
RANK | LAST YEAR | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | 2020 RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
1 | 1 | Southeastern (Fla.) [17] | 26-1 | 528 |
2 | 2 | Science & Arts (Okla.) [2] | 18-1 | 510 |
3 | 3 | Georgia Gwinnett | 23-2 | 497 |
4 | 4 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 19-5 | 467 |
5 | 5 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 16-6 | 462 |
6 | 6 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 22-4 | 434 |
7 | 8 | Faulkner (Ala.) | 18-4 | 428 |
8 | 7 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 22-3 | 425 |
9 | 9 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 17-5 | 394 |
10 | 10 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 16-5 | 364 |
11 | 12 | Indiana Southeast (Ind.) | 18-1 | 358 |
12 | 11 | Indiana Tech | 11-5 | 323 |
13 | 17 | Westmont (Calif.) | 18-9 | 311 |
14 | 13 | Lyon (Ark.) | 20-6 | 300 |
15 | 15 | Keiser (Fla.) | 19-6 | 292 |
16 | 18 | Oklahoma City | 17-8 | 257 |
17 | 23 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 18-7 | 253 |
18 | 14 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 21-6 | 241 |
19 | 19 | Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) | 22-7 | 235 |
20 | 20 | Mobile (Ala.) | 17-6 | 200 |
21 | 16 | Bryan (Tenn.) | 14-6 | 168 |
22 | 21 | Middle Georgia State | 17-8 | 151 |
23 | 24 | Hope International (Calif.) | 18-8 | 145 |
24 | RV | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 15-5 | 144 |
25 | 25 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 15-6 | 96 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio)
Others Receiving Votes: Taylor (Ind.) 93, Texas Wesleyan 78, Campbellsville (Ky.) 69, Tabor (Kan.) 65, Webber International (Fla.) 45, Concordia (Neb.) 20, Bellevue (Neb.) 19, Columbia (Mo.) 18, IU Kokomo (Ind.) 9, Wayland Baptist (Texas) 8, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 8, Clarke (Iowa) 7, Point (Ga.) 6.