2020 NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll – January 15
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Southern Oregon is ranked No. 1 to start the 2020 season after bringing home their first-ever red banner in 2019. The Raiders collected 18 first-place votes and 529 total points in the 2020 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
- National champion Southern Oregon won the World Series with an 8-3 victory against 10-time World Series Champion, Oklahoma City on May 29.
- The Raiders will return eight starters this season including 2019 first team All-American pitcher, Gabby Sandoval and 2019 World Series MVP, Lauren Quirke.
- Science & Arts (Okla.) moves up one spot from the postseason poll and claims the No. 2 spot to start the 2020 season. USAO returns All-American pitcher Emily Cerny along with All-Americans Kristen Prieto and Randa Hatter.
- National runner-up Oklahoma City moved to No. 3 in preseason edition. The Stars return Jaden Shores on the mound along with Kennedy Jackson.
- New to the poll from the 2019 postseason edition are No. 21 LSU Alexandria and No. 25 Marymount California
- No. 2 Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 142-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch. William Carey (Miss.) follows with the second longest streak with 106-straight rankings. No. 5 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) is next 66 straight appearances on the rankings.
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 rating) 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 appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
- The frequency of polls occurs bi-weekly.
- For the complete calendar of 2019 Top 25 Polls, click here.
2020 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll- Janurary 15
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1ST PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Southern Oregon [18] | 52-8 | 529 |
| 2 | 3 | Science & Arts (Okla.) [1] | 59-4 | 511 |
| 3 | 2 | Oklahoma City | 61-8 | 494 |
| 4 | 5 | Marian (Ind.) | 54-3 | 465 |
| 5 | 4 | Georgia Gwinnett | 46-16 | 454 |
| 5 | 6 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 52-5 | 454 |
| 7 | 7 | Mobile (Ala.) | 52-13 | 434 |
| 8 | 8 | Oregon Tech | 44-17 | 406 |
| 9 | 9 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 46-13 | 391 |
| 10 | 10 | Valley City State (N.D.) | 54-5 | 359 |
| 11 | 11 | Hope International (Calif.) | 46-14 | 353 |
| 12 | 13 | Indiana Wesleyan | 44-15-1 | 342 |
| 13 | 14 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 35-15 | 308 |
| 14 | 18 | Truett-McConnell (Ga.) | 42-9 | 302 |
| 15 | 15 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 40-10 | 286 |
| 16 | 16 | Columbia (Mo.) | 37-12 | 284 |
| 17 | 17 | Grand View (Iowa) | 48-11 | 278 |
| 18 | 21 | William Carey (Miss.) | 37-16 | 230 |
| 19 | 20 | College of Idaho | 40-17 | 225 |
| 20 | 22 | USC Beaufort (S.C.) | 40-13 | 194 |
| 21 | RV | LSU Alexandria (La.) | 34-16 | 180 |
| 22 | 24 | Morningside (Iowa) | 31-11 | 143 |
| 23 | 19 | Houston-Victoria (Texas) | 33-12 | 115 |
| 24 | 25 | Corban (Ore.) | 37-16 | 89 |
| 25 | RV | Marymount California | 34-13 | 83 |
Receiving Votes: Brenau (Ga.) 76, Rio Grande (Ohio) 69, Bellevue (Neb.) 59, St. Francis (Ill.) 38, Central Baptist (Ark.) 34, Arizona Christian 30, Midland (Neb.) 28, Madonna (Mich.) 27, Taylor (Ind.) 26, Cumberlands (Ky.) 20, Coastal Georgia 19, Simpson (Calif.) 12, Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 10, Central Methodist (Mo.) 8, McPherson (Kan.) 8, Reinhardt (Ga.) 5, Lawrence Tech (Mich.) 5
