Top-25 Teams Stay Intact in Second Edition of NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
March 30, 2010
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - California Baptist earned all 22 first-place votes to hold strong as the top-ranked team in the second edition of the NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Lancers recorded 622 points to land the No. 1 spot for the 10th consecutive poll. The top-five teams remain the same, but rearranged with Lubbock Christian (Texas) taking over at No. 2, followed by No. 3 Lee (Tenn.), No. 4 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) and No. 5 Bethel (Ind.).
All 25 teams that were ranked a week ago carried over to the second poll of the 2010 season. Eight teams, including four among the top 10, held onto their previous rank, while the remaining 17 teams adjusted position. No team moved more than two spots up or down. Climbing two notches were Lee, No. 6 Concordia (Ore.) and No. 16 Savannah College of Art & Design (Ga.). Point Loma Nazarene, No. 8 Dickinson State (N.D.) and No. 25 Brenau (Ga.) each dropped back two spots.
California Baptist's stranglehold on the poll dates back to March 24, 2009. During that stretch, the Lancers have been the unanimous pick on six occasions and the defending national champs have yet to share a first-place vote during the 2010 campaign. Head coach Mike Smith's squad is 41-1 overall and 13-1 in Golden State Athletic Conference play. The lone blemish on his team's resume came on March 4 at the hands of league foe No. 11 Concordia (Calif.), 3-2.
Along with California Baptist, Lubbock Christian, Lee and No. 9 Belhaven (Miss.) have surpassed the 30-win mark. At 19-1, Concordia (Ore.) is the only other team, along with California Baptist, to have just one loss on its record. Since falling to Biola (Calif.) 4-2 on Feb. 27, the Cavaliers have won 11 straight games. Six other Top-25 teams have five or fewer losses.
The Southern States Athletic Conference leads all leagues with four ranked teams: Lee, No. 12 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), No. 13 Shorter (Ga.) and Brenau. The Association of Independent Institutions, Golden State Athletic Conference, Sooner Athletic Conference and the unaffiliated grouping of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and Sunrise Conference each have three teams ranked among the Top 25.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences. The next poll will be announced on April 6.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2010 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | California Baptist University (22) | 41-1 | 622 |
| 2 | 3 | Lubbock Christian University (Texas) | 32-4 | 581 |
| 3 | 5 | Lee University (Tenn.) | 30-3 | 572 |
| 4 | 2 | Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.) | 19-5 | 569 |
| 5 | 4 | Bethel College (Ind.) | 17-2-1 | 559 |
| 6 | 8 | Concordia University (Ore.) | 19-1 | 504 |
| 7 | 7 | Saint Gregory's University (Okla.) | 18-5 | 501 |
| 8 | 6 | Dickinson State University (N.D.) | 9-6 | 489 |
| 9 | 9 | Belhaven University (Miss.) | 31-3 | 472 |
| 10 | 10 | Simon Fraser University (B.C.) | 13-4 | 431 |
| 11 | 11 | Concordia University (Calif.) | 27-11 | 423 |
| 12 | 13 | Auburn University Montgomery (Ala.) | 25-8-1 | 407 |
| 13 | 12 | Shorter College (Ga.) | 25-7 | 378 |
| 14 | 14 | William Carey University (Miss.) | 23-8 | 337 |
| 14 | 15 | University of Houston - Victoria (Texas) | 21-11 | 337 |
| 16 | 18 | Savannah College of Art and Design (Ga.) | 23-9 | 314 |
| 17 | 18 | Oklahoma City University | 15-7 | 297 |
| 18 | 17 | Union University (Tenn.) | 21-9 | 262 |
| 19 | 19 | Madonna University (Mich.) | 14-5 | 259 |
| 20 | 21 | Saint Xavier University (Ill.) | 17-5 | 254 |
| 21 | 20 | Martin Methodist College (Tenn.) | 25-8 | 214 |
| 22 | 22 | McKendree University (Ill.) | 15-9 | 182 |
| 23 | 25 | California State University-San Marcos | 21-9 | 181 |
| 24 | 25 | University of Mobile (Ala.) | 25-10 | 153 |
| 25 | 23 | Brenau University (Ga.) | 21-6-1 | 131 |
Others receiving votes: Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) 100; Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) 93; Evangel University (Mo.) 37; Trevecca Nazarene University (Tenn.) 28; Simpson University (Calif.) 28; Rogers State University (Okla.) 27; Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas) 21; Campbellsville University (Ky.) 17; Morningside College (Iowa) 15; Park University (Mo.) 13; Montreat College (N.C.) 10; Biola University (Calif.) 10; Mount Mercy College (Iowa) 7; Reinhardt College (Ga.) 6; Central Methodist University (Mo.) 5; Williams Baptist College (Ark.) 4; Davenport University (Mich.) 4; Asbury College (Ky.) 3; Marian University (Ind.) 3; Jamestown College (N.D.) 1; Robert Morris University (Ill.) 1; Texas Wesleyan University 1; Webber International University (Fla.) 1; William Penn University (Iowa) 1; College of Idaho 1.
