2017 NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll ? May 2 (No. 4)
By: Chad Waller, Director of Athletics Communications and Media
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oklahoma City continues to control the top of the charts, holding the No. 1 spot for the 12th-straight time in the 2017 NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. The final regular-season Top 25, along with the national championship opening round qualifiers and pairings, will be announced on Wednesday, May 10 at 6 p.m. CST. The announcement will occur via a live video selection show on NAIA.org.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• With all 19 first-place votes and 529 points, Oklahoma City heads into the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed. Postseason action begins Thursday from Oklahoma City.
• The defending national champion had a 52-game win streak snapped after a loss to NCAA Division II powerhouse West Texas A&M (ranked No. 6) on April 18. The Stars started the year 47-0 prior to that setback.
• The 12-straight top rankings by Oklahoma City is the longest for an NAIA program since former member Concordia (Calif.) went 18-consecutive weeks at No. 1 that spanned the 2013-14 seasons.
• The Stars are ranked No. 1 in the NAIA in several key categories: win percentage (.983), runs scored per game (8.1); total RBIs (423), opponent batting average (.144) and team ERA (0.74).
• Brenau (Ga.) holds in the No. 2 position for the second-straight week. The Tigers have the second-most victories in the NAIA with a 51-5 mark. After winning the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Tournament, Brenau qualified for its second-straight NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
• The rest of the teams in positions No. 3 through 8 all held from the previous installment: No. 3 Columbia (Mo.), No. 4 Marian (Ind.), No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett, No. 6 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), No. 7 William Carey (Miss.) and No. 8 Davenport (Mich.).
• Movement was minimal within poll. Two teams – No. 14 Reinhardt (Ga.) and No. 23 Bellevue (Neb.) – both improved two spots. Conversely, No. 16 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 20 Southern Oregon both slipped down two positions.
• The lone newcomer is No. 24 Williams Baptist (Ark.). The Eagles took a break in the previous poll but was ranked No. 19 in the second regular-season installment.
• Overall, 18 of the 19 conferences are represented in this edition. The Southern States Athletic Conference has the most schools represented with three.
• Six conferences send at least two schools into the Top 25.
• Through five polls this year, 39 different programs have been ranked at least once.
• Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 126-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 89-consecutive mentions. Next in line for consecutive streaks is Lindsey Wilson at 50.
• Former member California Baptist tops the charts of most all-time No. 1 mentions with 46. Oklahoma City is second all-time with 40, followed by former member Concordia with 24, former member Simon Fraser (B.C.) with 18 and Thomas (Ga.) with 13.
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 – May 2, 2017
| RANK | LAST WEEK^ | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2017 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Oklahoma City (19) | 57-1 | 529 |
| 2 | 2 | Brenau (Ga.) | 53-5 | 508 |
| 3 | 3 | Columbia (Mo.) | 40-5 | 496 |
| 4 | 4 | Marian (Ind.) | 40-4 | 471 |
| 5 | 5 | Georgia Gwinnett | 45-7-1 | 465 |
| 6 | 6 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 39-11 | 427 |
| 7 | 7 | William Carey (Miss.) | 42-9 | 422 |
| 8 | 8 | Davenport (Mich.) | 38-6 | 416 |
| 9 | 10 | Morningside (Iowa) | 35-8 | 381 |
| 10 | 9 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 37-13 | 368 |
| 11 | 12 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 37-5 | 350 |
| 12 | 11 | LSU Alexandria | 43-8 | 348 |
| 13 | 13 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 38-13 | 321 |
| 14 | 16 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 41-14-1 | 296 |
| 15 | 15 | Corban (Ore.) | 38-9 | 283 |
| 16 | 14 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 42-12 | 280 |
| 17 | 17 | Simpson (Calif.) | 40-8 | 279 |
| 18 | 19 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 41-7 | 226 |
| 19 | 20 | Mobile (Ala.) | 40-18 | 202 |
| 20 | 18 | Southern Oregon | 37-12 | 190 |
| 21 | 21 | Grand View (Iowa) | 39-11 | 183 |
| 22 | 23 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 34-15 | 155 |
| 23 | 25 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 45-12 | 152 |
| 24 | NR | Williams Baptist (Ark.) | 29-9 | 147 |
| 25 | 24 | Warner (Fla.) | 22-13 | 113 |
Dropped from rankings: No. 22 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
Others Receiving Votes: Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 64; Taylor (Ind.) 51; Oregon Tech 49; Clarke (Iowa) 46; Georgetown (Ky.) 35; Thomas (Ga.) 22; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 18; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 18; Ottawa (Kan.) 15; Coastal Georgia 14; Menlo (Calif.) 10; Indiana Wesleyan 9; St. Gregory's (Okla.) 7.
^ Ranking from 2017 Coaches Top 25 Poll (April 18, 2017)
