By: Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With 18 first-place votes, Oklahoma City maintains the No. 1 ranking for the eighth-straight week in the final regular-season edition of the 2015 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Thursday. The Stars become the second-straight team to rattle through the entire regular-season with the No. 1 position joining Concordia (Calif.), who did it in back-to-back years from 2013-14.

The 40 national championship opening round qualifiers will be announced later today at 5 p.m. CDT on www.NAIA.org, followed by a video selection show announcing the pairings and brackets at 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City collected 589 total points after ending the regular-season with a 52-4 record. The Stars, who have notched 50-or-more wins now in each of the past three seasons, earned one of four national championship opening round host berths. Ranked No. 2 in the NAIA in numerous offensive statistical categories, including batting average (.391), runs scored per game (9.1), home runs per game (1.6) and hits per game (10.9), Oklahoma City has scored at least four runs in 10 of the last 11 games.

No. 2 LSU Alexandria (La.) improves one position for the second-straight week. With 527 total points and the remaining three first-place votes, the ranking ties the Generals for their highest spot in history.

No. 3 Concordia (Calif.) slides up one spot with 541 points. No. 4 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) falls down two positions with 523 points. Rounding out the top five is Saint Xavier (Ill.), who has owned the No. 5 spot for five-straight weeks.

No. 9 Science & Arts (Okla.) and No. 10 Mobile (Ala.) both claim the best improvement within the poll after a four-spot leap. Conversely, No. 14 William Carey (Miss.) and No. 25 Vanguard (Calif.) slipped down four positions.

Landing its first Top 25 ranking in school history, Georgia Gwinnett captures the No. 21 position with 175 total points. The Grizzlies earned an auto championship berth after winning the Association of Independent Institutions tournament on May 2 as the No. 3 seed.

Houston-Victoria (Texas) (No. 22) falls out of the Top 25. The absence snaps a streak of 22-straight rankings, which dates back to the 2013 season.

Twelve of 21 conferences and Unaffiliated Groups are represented this week, led by five leagues with three members each. A trio of conferences land two teams in the Top 25.

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

The 2015 Softball Postseason Coaches’ Top 25 Poll will be announced June 3. For the complete calendar of 2015 Top 25 Polls, click here.

Notes: (all information dating back to 2000) Prior to today, No. 1 Oklahoma City was the unanimous top selection for five-straight polls… Through nine polls (including preseason), there have been 38 different ranked teams this year… Sixteen programs have held a Top 25 ranking in each of the nine polls… No. 2 LSU Alexandria (La.) is in its second-season of being eligible for the polls and has held a top-10 ranking for 18-straight weeks… Preseason No. 1 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) (current No. 4) is looking to become the first team to be on top of the preseason charts and win the national championship in the same season since Oklahoma City did so in 2002… Last year, there were 36 different teams ranked, with 16 of them ranked in every poll... Oklahoma City and Auburn Montgomery have held a No. 1 ranking this year – last year, Auburn Montgomery and Concordia (Calif.) were the only No. 1 ranked teams... Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 110-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch, which dates back to start of 2004 season… No. 14 William Carey (Miss.) is second with 73-consecutive mentions and Concordia is right behind at 64-straight polls… Since 2000, 12 teams have topped the poll with former member California Baptist leading the way with 46 all-time No. 1 appearances, followed by Oklahoma City at 28, Concordia with 24, former member Simon Fraser (B.C.) with 18, Thomas (Ga.) with 13, Mobile (Ala.) with five, former member Lubbock Christian (Texas) with four, Auburn Montgomery, Cal State San Marcos and Oklahoma Baptist with two apiece – Oregon Tech and former member Shorter (Ga.) each have one.

2015 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – May 7

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2015 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Oklahoma City (18)	52-4	589
2	3	LSU Alexandria (3)	48-3	572
3	4	Concordia (Calif.)	49-6	541
4	2	Auburn Montgomery (Ala.)	39-8	523
5	5	Saint Xavier (Ill.)	44-5-2	522
6	6	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	45-6	512
7	7	Campbellsville (Ky.)	34-8	462
8	8	Central Methodist (Mo.)	41-8	453
9	13	Science & Arts (Okla.)	42-7	442
10	14	Mobile (Ala.)	33-11	406
11	9	St. Gregory's (Okla.)	34-9	394
12	12	Oregon Tech	41-14	379
13	11	Cal State San Marcos	34-14	375
14	10	William Carey (Miss.)	37-16	357
15	15	Southeastern (Fla.)	39-12	324
16	17	USC Beaufort (S.C.)	40-12	287
17	16	Concordia (Ore.)	40-16	279
18	18	Biola (Calif.)	34-18	273
19	19	Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)	43-10	234
20	23	Davenport (Mich.)	40-8	190
21	RV	Georgia Gwinnett	36-14	175
22	24	Corban (Ore.)	38-16	171
23	20	Thomas (Ga.)	35-13	156
24	25	Marian (Ind.)	40-12	131
25	21	Vanguard (Calif.)	37-22	122

Receiving Votes: Houston-Victoria (Texas) 104; Grand View (Iowa) 96; Belhaven (Miss.) 64; Reinhardt (Ga.) 51; Bellevue (Neb.) 48; Doane (Neb.) 39; Indiana Wesleyan 37; Dickinson State (N.D.) 21; Madonna (Mich.) 17; Columbia (Mo.) 13; Rio Grande (Ohio) 11; Friends (Kan.) 9; Tennessee Wesleyan 7; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 3.