KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Georgia Gwinnett is voted as the unanimous No. 1 pick in the third regular-season installment of the 2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. Ranked No. 1 for the third-straight poll, the Grizzlies collected all 19 first-place votes for the first time in school history.

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):

• Georgia Gwinnett posted 529 total points this week.
• With a 35-2 (.946) overall record, the Grizzlies own the second-best win percentage in the NAIA behind second-ranked Marian (Ind.).
• Georgia Gwinnett has won 16-straight games heading into its doubleheader at home vs Reinhardt (Ga.) on Tuesday. The Grizzlies are a perfect 22-0 this year at their home facility.
• Looming in the distance are a pair of twinbills against No. 14 Thomas (Ga.) on April 22 and No. 18 Faulkner (Ala.) on April 24.
• No. 2 Marian stands 23-1 and has now been ranked in the top 10 in each of the last 12 polls dating back to the end of the 2016 season.
• No. 8 Vanguard (Calif.) is the first NAIA team to reach the 40-win threshold. The Lions (41-6) did that on April 7 against San Diego Christian (Calif.).
• The only newcomer this week – No. 22 (tie) Grand View (Iowa) – is on a seven-win streak. The Vikings were ranked in the first regular-season and preseason polls.
• No. 5 Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 132-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch. No. 12 William Carey (Miss.) is second with 95-consecutive mentions, followed by No. 9 (tie) Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at 56-straight.
• Former member California Baptist tops the charts of most all-time No. 1 mentions with 46. Oklahoma City is second all-time with 43, followed by former member Concordia (Calif.) 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.
• For the complete calendar of 2018 Top 25 Polls, click here. 

2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll No. 3 (April 10, 2018)

Others Receiving Votes: Rio Grande (Ohio) 61; Valley City State (N.D.) 58; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 53; Southeastern (Fla.) 43; Georgetown (Ky.) 31; Texas Wesleyan 28; Aquinas (Mich.) 19; Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 16; LSU Alexandria (La.) 12; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 9; Cumberland (Tenn.) 6; Northwestern (Iowa) 3.

Dropped Out: None

^ Previous ranking occurred March 27, 2018 (Poll No. 2)