2022-23 NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll (October 26, 2022)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Arizona Christian led the way with 15, first-place votes in the preseason edition of the Top 25. The Firestorm ended their season in the semifinal round of the 2022 NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship and are looking for the team’s first red banner in 2022-23. Thomas More (Ky.), another semifinalist from a season ago, slotted in at No. 2 while College of Idaho, Oklahoma Wesleyan and Indiana 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 Continental Athletic Conference (Independents).
- 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.
2022-23 NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll (October 26, 2022)
| RANK | LAST YEAR | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 4 | Arizona Christian [15] | 31-5 | 553 |
| 2 | 5 | Thomas More (Ky.) [3] | 31-5 | 521 |
| 3 | 9 | College of Idaho | 32-5 | 513 |
| 4 | 3 | Oklahoma Wesleyan [1] | 34-3 | 501 |
| 5 | 7 | Indiana Wesleyan | 28-7 | 489 |
| 6 | 13 | William Jessup (Calif.) | 30-7 | 485 |
| 7 | 1 | William Penn (Iowa) [1] | 31-2 | 457 |
| 8 | RV | Grace (Ind.) | 27-9 | 429 |
| 9 | NR | Jamestown (N.D.) | 25-11 | 403 |
| 10 | RV | Georgetown (Ky.) | 25-8 | 367 |
| 11 | 15 | Faulkner (Ala.) | 26-7 | 356 |
| 12 | 21 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 25-8 | 312 |
| 13 | 10 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 25-8 | 262 |
| 14 | 12 | Marian (Ind.) | 26-6 | 252 |
| 15 | RV | Southwestern (Kan.) | 25-8 | 242 |
| 16 | 8 | Carroll (Mont.) | 29-5 | 237 |
| 17 | 18 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 22-8 | 236 |
| 18 | NR | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 19-13 | 224 |
| 19 | 19 | Indiana South Bend (Ind.) | 25-7 | 197 |
| 20 | RV | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 22-9 | 193 |
| 21 | RV | Florida College | 31-4 | 171 |
| 22 | RV | Oregon Tech | 22-11 | 167 |
| 23 | 14 | Montana Tech | 27-7 | 124 |
| 24 | RV | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 19-12 | 123 |
| 25 | 25 | Indiana Tech | 26-8 | 121 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Loyola (La.), Talladega (Ala.), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Saint Francis (Ind.), Hope International (Calif.), Bethel (Kan.), IU Kokomo (Ind.), Concordia (Neb.), SAGU (Texas).
Others Receiving Votes: Union (Ky.) 117, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 112, Evangel (Mo.) 80, Kansas Wesleyan 70, Huntington (Ind.) 60, Hope International (Calif.) 57, WVU Tech (W.Va.) 57, Xavier (La.) 56, Ottawa (Ariz.) 35, Missouri Baptist 26, Northwestern (Iowa) 23, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 22, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 22, Madonna (Mich.) 18, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 16, Langston (Okla.) 16, Stillman (Ala.) 15, Bellevue (Neb.) 14, Cumberlands (Ky.) 14, IU Kokomo (Ind.) 9, Concordia (Neb.) 6, Reinhardt (Ga.) 5.
