By: Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oklahoma City sits on top for the seventh-straight week and collected all 21 first-place votes in the seventh regular-season edition of the 2015 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Stars, with 591 total points this week, have earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) tournament that begins Thursday.

The final regular-season edition of the NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – used to decide the nine at-large teams for the upcoming National Championship Opening Round – will be announced on Thursday, May 7 at 4 p.m. CDT. The 40 national championship opening round qualifiers will be announced on May 7 at 5 p.m., followed by a video selection show announcing the pairings and brackets at 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City won its 16th overall SAC regular-season championship and first since 2011 with a 25-1 league mark. The Stars stand 49-3 heading into their SAC tournament opener against SAGU (Texas) on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. CDT at Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City continues to lead the NAIA in wins (49) and winning percentage (.942) and ranks No. 1 in home runs per game (1.7), total runs scored (483) and total RBIs (444).

No. 2 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) locks down the second spot for the sixth-straight week with 566 points. The defending national champion punched its ticket to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round by virtue of the winning the Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season title with a 38-6 overall record. The Warhawks are scheduled to face the Bethel (Tenn.) and Brewton-Parker (Ga.) winner Thursday at 4 p.m. CDT.

No. 3 LSU Alexandria (La.) moves up one spot for its highest position this year. With 548 points, the Generals are 43-3 overall.

With 542 points, No. 4 Concordia (Calif.) switches places with LSU Alexandria. No. 5 Saint Xavier (Ill.) holds steady for the fourth-consecutive time with 505 points.

Movement was minimal in both directions within the poll. No. 15 Southeastern (Fla.) and No. 18 Biola (Calif.) both improved two positions. Outside of the six-spot fall by No. 21 Vanguard (Calif.), no other team dropped more than one position.

No. 25 Marian (Ind.) is the lone newcomer after winning seven of its last eight games entering Monday.

Madonna (Mich.) (No. 25), one week after its first Top 25 position since 2011, falls out of the ranking.

Twelve of 21 conferences and Unaffiliated Groups are represented this week, led by five leagues with three members each. A trio of conferences land two teams in the Top 25.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences /independent /unaffiliated groupings.

For the complete calendar of 2015 Top 25 Polls, click here.

Notes: (all information dating back to 2000) No. 1 Oklahoma City is the unanimous top pick for the fifth-straight poll… Through eight polls (including preseason), there have been 37 different ranked teams this year… Seventeen programs have held a Top 25 ranking in each of the eight polls… No. 3 LSU Alexandria (La.) is in its second-season of being eligible for the polls and has held a top-10 ranking for 17-straight weeks… Preseason No. 1 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) is looking to become the first team to be on top of the preseason charts and win the national championship in the same season since Oklahoma City did so in 2002… Last year, there were 36 different teams ranked, with 16 of them ranked in every poll... Oklahoma City and Auburn Montgomery have held a No. 1 ranking this year – last year, Auburn Montgomery and Concordia were the only No. 1 ranked teams... Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 109-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch, which dates back to start of 2004 season… No. 10 William Carey (Miss.) is second with 72-consecutive mentions and Concordia is right behind at 63-straight polls… Since 2000, 12 teams have topped the poll with former member California Baptist leading the way with 46 all-time No. 1 appearances, followed by Oklahoma City at 27, Concordia with 24, former member Simon Fraser (B.C.) with 18, Thomas (Ga.) with 13, Mobile (Ala.) with five, former member Lubbock Christian (Texas) with four, Auburn Montgomery, Cal State San Marcos and Oklahoma Baptist with two apiece – Oregon Tech and former member Shorter (Ga.) each have one.

2015 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – April 28

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2015 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Oklahoma City (21)	49-3	591
2	2	Auburn Montgomery (Ala.)	38-6	566
3	4	LSU Alexandria	43-3	548
4	3	Concordia (Calif.)	46-6	542
5	5	Saint Xavier (Ill.)	41-5-2	505
6	6	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	41-6	494
7	7	Campbellsville (Ky.)	31-6	472
8	8	Central Methodist (Mo.)	37-6	464
9	10	St. Gregory's (Okla.)	32-8	432
10	9	William Carey (Miss.)	35-14	409
11	11	Cal State San Marcos	33-12	407
12	12	Oregon Tech	38-12	383
13	14	Science & Arts (Okla.)	38-7	359
14	13	Mobile (Ala.)	29-11	350
15	17	Southeastern (Fla.)	38-10	310
16	15	Concordia (Ore.)	40-14	308
17	18	USC Beaufort (S.C.)	34-11	268
18	20	Biola (Calif.)	32-16	254
19	19	Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)	42-8	253
20	21	Thomas (Ga.)	34-11	212
21	15	Vanguard (Calif.)	36-20	201
22	22	Houston-Victoria (Texas)	25-15	194
23	24	Davenport (Mich.)	36-8	172
24	23	Corban (Ore.)	35-15	158
25	RV	Marian (Ind.)	38-10	92

Receiving Votes: Madonna (Mich.) 78; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 66; Belhaven (Miss.) 54; Grand View (Iowa) 43; Reinhardt (Ga.) 37; Doane (Neb.) 35; Bellevue (Neb.) 33; Georgia Gwinnett 30; Indiana Southeast 19; Simpson (Calif.) 17; Tennessee Wesleyan 10; Taylor (Ind.) 7; Jamestown (N.D.) 3.