By: Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the fourth-straight poll, Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) holds the No. 1 spot in the second regular-season edition of the 2016 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. The next Top 25 edition will be announced April 5.

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• Two-time defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) posted 13 first-place votes to go along with 524 points.
• The Warhawks now stand with six all-time No. 1 rankings, which is sixth most on the all-time charts.
• Recently, Auburn Montgomery (23-2) split a doubleheader with No. 8 William Carey (Miss.) on March 22. The two clubs are tied for first in the Southern States Athletic Conference standings at 5-1.
• No. 2 Oklahoma City, a Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) member, recorded the final first-place votes (6) and finished with 517 points.
• Oklahoma City holds the most wins in the NAIA with a 32-1 record (games played through March 27). The Stars started off the year at 29-0 and was the last team in the NAIA to lose their first contest.
• Fellow SAC member, St. Gregory’s (Okla.) moves up to the No. 3 position.
• The rest of the top five is No. 4 Saint Xavier (Ill.) and No. 5 Campbellsville (Ky.).
• Overall, movement was minimal as no team within the poll moved more than two spots in either direction.
• Newcomer Arizona Christian checks in at the No. 25 position. This is the first national ranking in the sport of softball in school history. The Firestorm are off to a 23-9 start, including a first-place position in the Golden State Athletic Conference standings (7-3).
• Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 114-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch, which dates back to start of 2004 season. William Carey (Miss.) is second with 77-consecutive mentions. Next in line for consecutive streaks is Auburn Montgomery at 43-straight; St. Gregory’s (Okla.) at 41 and Lindsey Wilson at 38.
• No. 6 LSU Alexandria (La.) has now been in the top 10 in 22-straight polls dating back to 2014.
• Seventeen of 19 conferences are represented in the poll this week.
• The Southern States Athletic Conference leads all leagues with three schools representing: Auburn Montgomery, No. 7 Mobile (Ala.) and No. 8 William Carey. Overall, seven conferences send multiple schools into the Top 25.
• Through three polls this year (including Preseason), there have been 35 different ranked teams.
• 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, Auburn Montgomery at six and Mobile at five.

Poll Methodology
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the 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”
• For the complete calendar of 2016 Top 25 Polls, click here.

2016 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – March 29 (#2)

Dropped from rankings: No. 25 Friends (Kan.).

Others Receiving Votes: Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 74; Friends (Kan.) 74; Rio Grande (Ohio) 69; Indiana Wesleyan 44; Oregon Tech 33; Valley City State (N.D.) 13; Concordia (Neb.) 11; St. Francis (Ill.) 9; Menlo (Calif.) 9; Concordia (Mich.) 8; Georgetown (Ky.) 5; Faulkner (Ala.) 3.