By Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Concordia (Calif.) earns the No. 1 ranking for the ninth-straight time in the 2013 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Postseason Top 25 Poll, announced by the national office Wednesday.  The Eagles won their first-ever national championship back on May 30 with an 8-3 victory over Spring Hill (Ala.). The Eagles become the first team since 2009 to head into the national championship ranked No. 1 and win the title – California Baptist accomplished this in 2009.

Concordia is the unanimous No. 1 selection with 20 votes and 560 total points. The Eagles rattled through the National Championship final site with four wins and finished the year 52-3 overall. The .945 win percentage is the highest for a team with 50-plus games played since Central Baptist (Ark.) posted a .981 clip in 2010 (52-1).

National runner-up No. 2 Spring Hill rolled in 537 points for its highest ranking in school history. The Badgers narrowly made the cut into the National Championship Opening Round, played out May 13 – 15, and ended up with a 49-17 record. Spring Hill won seven of its last nine contests to wrap up the season.

No. 3 Lubbock Christian (Texas) was eliminated in the semifinal round. The Lady Chaps tallied 527 points and captured the Sooner Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships.

With 506 points, No. 4 Williams Baptist (Ark.) advanced to its first semifinal round in Columbus, Ga. No. 5 Oklahoma City finished with 483 points in the postseason edition.

Spring Hill enjoyed the biggest movement upward with a 13-spot shift. Conversely, No. 10 Lee (Tenn.), who had a streak of eight-straight top-five mentions, tumbles down seven positions.

No. 19 College of Idaho and No. 22 Bellevue (Neb.) leap in as newcomers. College of Idaho was last ranked April 10, 2012 (No. 21) and the Bruins were mentioned last on March 26, 2008 (No. 25).

Oregon Tech (No. 20), Campbellsville (Ky.) (No. 22) and Indiana Southeast (No. 25) fell out from the May 7 edition. With an absence this week, Oregon Tech snaps its 26-week reign in the Top 25.

Thirteen of 21 conferences/independent/unaffiliated groupings are represented in the poll. The Southern States Athletic Conference leads the way with six programs within the Top 25: Spring Hill, Lee, No. 8 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), No. 13 Belhaven (Miss.), No. 20 Brenau (Ga.) and No. 21 William Carey (Miss.). The Sooner Athletic Conference claims four ranked teams.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences /independent /unaffiliated groupings.

For the complete calendar of 2013 Top 25 Polls, click here.

Notes: (all information dating back to 2000) The nine-straight No. 1 rankings for Concordia (Calif.) is the longest stretch for any program since former member California Baptist rattled through all nine polls in 2011… No. 22 Bellevue (Neb.) is ranked the highest since a 12th position in the 2008 Preseason Top 25 (Jan. 30)… Sixteen programs have been ranked in each of the 10 polls (including Preseason) this year… No. 1 Concordia (Calif.) has now held the No. 1 position in 15 of the last 17 polls dating back to the 2012 season… There have been 36 different teams ranked in the Top 25 this year… No. 5 Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 91-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch, which dates back to start of 2004 season; No. 3 Lubbock Christian (Texas) and No. 25 William Carey (Miss.) are tied for second with 54-consecutive mentions and No. 1 Concordia is right behind at 45-straight polls… This year, two teams have held the No. 1 ranking: Cal State San Marcos (1) and Concordia (9) – last year, there were five different programs… Since 2000, there have been 11 teams to be on top of the polls: Concordia, Cal State San Marcos, California Baptist, Lubbock Christian, Mobile (Ala.), Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma City, Oregon Tech, former NAIA member Simon Fraser (B.C.), former member Shorter (Ga.) and Thomas (Ga.)… California Baptist leads the way with 46 all-time No. 1 appearances, followed by Oklahoma City with 20, Simon Fraser with 18, Concordia with 15, Thomas with 13, Mobile with five and Lubbock Christian with four.

2013 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Postseason Top 25 Poll (June 5)

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2013 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Concordia (Calif.) (20)	52-3	560
2	15	Spring Hill (Ala.)	49-17	537
3	2	Lubbock Christian (Texas)	61-10	527
4	6	Williams Baptist (Ark.)	46-9	506
5	4	Oklahoma City	51-15	483
6	8	Reinhardt (Ga.)	45-9	476
7	10	Saint Xavier (Ill.)	50-9	443
8	7	Auburn Montgomery (Ala.)	45-12	440
9	5	Cal State San Marcos	43-12	412
10	3	Lee (Tenn.)	47-11	410
11	9	South Carolina Beaufort	43-6	361
12	11	Corban (Ore.)	43-15	340
13	13	Belhaven (Miss.)	38-14	334
14	12	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	50-10	333
15	14	Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)	48-9	321
16	16	St. Gregory's (Okla.)	35-17	227
17	17	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)	32-9	221
18	24	Houston-Victoria (Texas)	32-22	216
19	RV	College of Idaho	36-23	204
20	18	Brenau (Ga.)	34-16	203
20	19	Park (Mo.)	31-11	203
22	RV	Bellevue (Neb.)	42-11	177
23	23	Friends (Kan.)	43-8	145
24	20	Rogers State (Okla.)	40-17	135
25	21	William Carey (Miss.)	34-18	124

Others receiving votes: Oregon Tech 112; Indiana Southeast 99; Campbellsville (Ky.) 97; Central Methodist (Mo.) 75; Marian (Ind.) 73; Davenport (Mich.) 40; Virginia Intermont 18; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 14; Concordia (Ore.) 11; Central Baptist (Ark.) 11; Simpson (Calif.) 4; Mobile (Ala.) 3; Bethel (Ind.) 3.