2018 NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll ? No. 4 (April 24)

Apr 24, 2018

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the fourth-straight week, Georgia Gwinnett latches on as the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. The Grizzlies gathered all 19 first-place votes and 529 total points. The 10 NAIA National Championship Opening Round host sites will be announced on Wednesday, April 25.

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

Georgia Gwinnett has won 24-straight contests dating back to a March 16th victory against Kentucky Christian.
The club owns a 43-2 overall record on the season, which stands as the best win percentage in the NAIA at .956.
In national statistical rankings, the Grizzlies are No. 2 in stolen bases per game (3.00), batting average (.376) and fielding percentage (.973). Niki Cook ranks first in the NAIA in total stolen bases with 49. She needs five more to crack into the all-time NAIA regular-season top 10 list.
The Grizzlies face No. 13 Faulkner (Ala.) on Tuesday.
No. 7 Vanguard (Calif.) claims the most wins in the NAIA with a 48-8 mark.
No. 21 Southeastern (Fla.) and No. 22 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) are the only rookies this week. Southeastern was last ranked in the 2018 Preseason Top 25 at the No. 16 spot. The Lions are mentioned for the first time this year with the last being on April 18, 2017 in the No. 22 position.
No. 5 Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 133-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch. No. 18 William Carey (Miss.) is second with 96-consecutive mentions, followed by No. 11 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at 57-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. 4 (April 24, 2018)

RANK	LAST WEEK^	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2018 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Georgia Gwinnett (19)	43-2	529
2	2	Marian (Ind.)	36-2	504
3	3	Science & Arts (Okla.)	44-3	501
4	4	Campbellsville (Ky.)	39-6	473
5	5	Oklahoma City	41-6	469
6	6	Hope International (Calif.)	43-9	426
7	8	Vanguard (Calif.)	48-8	412
8	9	Southern Oregon	38-11	402
9	7	Mobile (Ala.)	36-11	390
10	11	Indiana Wesleyan	41-8	386
11	9	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	35-10	341
12	13	Corban (Ore.)	31-10	333
13	18	Faulkner (Ala.)	42-8	323
14	14	Thomas (Ga.)	32-12	304
15	16	Jamestown (N.D.)	33-6	303
16	19	St. Francis (Ill.)	26-6	271
17	T22	Grand View (Iowa)	33-6	267
18	12	William Carey (Miss.)	31-13	241
19	17	Central Methodist (Mo.)	31-7	223
20	T22	Oregon Tech	31-11	187
21	RV	Southeastern (Fla.)	38-13	150
22	RV	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)	26-11	138
23	T25	Morningside (Iowa)	23-10	123
24	20	Warner (Fla.)	31-12	119
25	T25	Baker (Kan.)	31-9	106

Others Receiving Votes: Rio Grande (Ohio) 92; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 79; Truett-McConnell (Ga.) 75; Valley City State (N.D.) 57; Georgetown (Ky.) 39; Lyon (Ark.) 29; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 23; Aquinas (Mich.) 12; Simpson (Calif.) 12; William Jessup (Calif.) 11; Northwestern (Iowa) 10; Tabor (Kan.) 9; Columbia (Mo.) 4.