2021-22 NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll (October 27, 2021)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Shawnee State (Ohio) topped the nation in the preseason edition of the Top 25. The Bears grabbed 11 of the 21, first place votes after securing the national title last March. Saint Fraincis (Ind.), Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas), William Penn (Iowa) and Loyola (La.) rounded-out the top five. Seven schools that were not ranked in the final poll a season ago appear in the 2021-22 preseason edition. Carroll (Mont.), Oregon Tech, Jamestown (N.D.), The Master’s (Calif.), Thomas More (Ky.), College of Idaho and IU South Bend (Ind.) all were newcomers to the poll since the final edition a season ago on February 24, 2021.
Poll Methodology:
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and 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. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) beginning in the 2016-17 academic season. This change will allow raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work in between rating periods.
- For the complete Top 25 calendar, click HERE.
2021-22 NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll (October 27, 2021)
| RANK | LAST YEAR | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 6 | Shawnee State (Ohio) [11] | 31-2 | 567 |
| 2 | 24 | Saint Francis (Ind.) [1] | 27-9 | 547 |
| 3 | 8 | SAGU (Texas) [5] | 13-3 | 544 |
| 4 | 2 | William Penn (Iowa) [3] | 25-2 | 543 |
| 5 | 16 | Loyola (La.) | 15-6 | 499 |
| 6 | 3 | LSU Shreveport (La.) [1] | 16-2 | 488 |
| 7 | 5 | Arizona Christian | 24-3 | 466 |
| 8 | 18 | Bethel (Kan.) | 21-7 | 422 |
| 9 | 1 | Indiana Wesleyan | 30-3 | 407 |
| 10 | RV | Carroll (Mont.) | 20-8 | 400 |
| 11 | 9 | Talladega (Ala.) | 25-5 | 398 |
| 12 | 12 | Morningside (Iowa) | 21-6 | 388 |
| 13 | NR | Oregon Tech | 8-2 | 376 |
| 14 | 13 | Marian (Ind.) | 23-5 | 331 |
| 15 | 11 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 17-3 | 302 |
| 16 | 20 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 21-7 | 278 |
| 17 | 14 | Stillman (Ala.) | 17-4 | 271 |
| 18 | 22 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 21-7 | 246 |
| 19 | RV | Jamestown (N.D.) | 22-9 | 225 |
| 20 | 4 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 22-2 | 211 |
| 21 | 15 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 16-8 | 178 |
| 22 | RV | The Master's (Calif.) | 21-5 | 176 |
| 23 | RV | Thomas More (Ky.) | 17-10 | 171 |
| 24 | NR | College of Idaho | 8-9 | 169 |
| 25 | NR | IU South Bend (Ind.) | 7-1 | 100 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Faulkner (Ala.), Providence (Mont.), Texas A&M Texarkana, LSU Alexandria (La.), Bethel (Ind.), Nothwestern (Iowa), Cumberlands (Ky.)
Others Receiving Votes: LSU Alexandria (La.) 94, Faulkner (Ala.) 93, Dillard (La.) 79, Indiana Tech 55, Vanguard (Calif.) 45, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 42, Grace (Ind.) 27, WVU Tech (W.Va.) 23, Warner (Fla.) 23, Xavier (La.) 22, Ottawa (Kan.) 21, Union (Ky.) 19, Antelope Valley (Calif.) 15, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 9, Central Baptist (Ark.) 9, Concordia (Neb.) 8, John Brown (Ark.) 7, Texas A&M Texarkana 6, Montana Tech 5, Keiser (Fla.) 5.
