By: Spencer Scheve, Athletics Communications and Media Intern

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the only undefeated team in NAIA softball, Oklahoma City controls the No. 1 position in the second regular-season edition of the 2017 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. The Stars have now been ranked first in 10-straight polls, dating back to the middle of the 2016 season. The third regular-season Top 25 will be announced Tuesday, April 18.

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• Oklahoma City gathered all 19 first-place votes and 529 points. The Stars are a perfect 36-0 on the year heading into a doubleheader against St. Gregory’s (Okla.) on Tuesday. 
• Including today, the Stars have been ranked No. 1 in 18 of the previous 22 polls dating back to the 2015 first regular-season edition.
• Oklahoma City ranks No. 1 statistically in four categories: total hits (393), total runs scored (297), total RBI’s (262) and ERA (0.550).
• Columbia (Mo.) jumps one spot to earn the No. 2 rank.  The Cougars earned 492 points.
• The Cougars are coming off a two-game sweep against Warner (Fla.) as they prepare for Park (Mo.) on Wednesday.
• To round out the top five, Brenau (Ga.) earns the No. 3 rank with 479 points, Marian (Ind.) at No. 4 with 475 points and Georgia Gwinnett at No. 5 with 467 points.
• Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) climbs two spots to join the top 10.
• This edition sees one newcomer: No. 18 Corban (Ore.). The last time the Warriors were ranked was on March 29, 2016, when Corban was No. 23.
• The only team to fall out of the Top 25 is Hope International (Calif.).
• Overall, 17 of the 20 conference are represented in this edition of the poll. The Cascade Collegiate Conference and the Southern States Athletic Conference are tied for most schools represented with three each.
• Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 124-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch, which goes back to the start of the 2004 season. William Carey is second with 87-consecutive mentions. Next in line for consecutive streaks is Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at 48.
• Former member California Baptist tops the charts of most all-time No. 1 mentions with 46. Oklahoma City is second all-time with 38, followed by former member Concordia (Calif.) with 24, former member Simon Fraser (B.C.) with 18 and Thomas (Ga.) with 13.
• In 10 polls last year, there were 41 different ranked teams.

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”
• Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) for 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 calendar of 2017 Top 25 Polls, click here.

2017 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – April 4, 2017

RANK	LAST WEEK^	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2017 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Oklahoma City (19)	36-0	529
2	3	Columbia (Mo.)	25-4	492
3	8	Brenau (Ga.)	37-5	479
4	4	Marian (Ind.)	23-1	475
5	5	Georgia Gwinnett	33-5-1	467
6	6	Campbellsville (Ky.)	25-7	443
7	7	Davenport (Mich.)	25-3	425
7	2	William Carey (Miss.)	33-6	425
9	11	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	26-7	370
10	10	Morningside (Iowa)	21-6	363
11	15	Southeastern (Fla.)	30-11	356
12	12	Reinhardt (Ga.)	29-10-1	335
13	13	LSU Alexandria	32-6	327
14	9	Thomas (Ga.)	27-9	316
15	16	St. Francis (Ill.)	23-3	294
16	14	Simpson (Calif.)	28-7	287
17	17	Vanguard (Calif.)	35-9	275
18	NR	Corban (Ore.)	26-6	233
19	19	Williams Baptist (Ark.)	15-7	203
20	20	Grand View (Iowa)	18-6	186
21	18	Southern Oregon	25-8	166
22	24	Rio Grande (Ohio)	24-6	162
23	21	Mobile (Ala.)	25-13	142
24	25	Science & Arts (Okla.)	25-12	106
25	22	Oregon Tech	21-7	103

Dropped from rankings: No. 23 Hope International (Calif.)

Others Receiving Votes: Georgetown (Ky.) 94; Friends (Kan.) 71; Bellevue (Neb.) 57; Menlo Calif.) 54; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 49; Siena Heights (Mich.) 21; Evangel (Mo.) 15; Hope International (Calif.) 13; Judson (Ill.) 7; Ave Maria (Fla.) 7; Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 6; Taylor (Ind.) 4; Coastal Georgia 3; Aquinas (Mich.) 3

^ Ranking from 2017 Coaches Top 25 Poll (March 21, 2017)