2016 NAIA Softball Coaches? Top 25 Poll ? May 10 (Final)
By: Chad Waller, Director of Communications and Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oklahoma City reigns on top of the 2016 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. The Stars boast the No. 1 ranking for the sixth-straight week. The postseason Top 25 edition will be announced June 7.
The official announcement of the 40 national championship opening round qualifiers and opening round pairings will occur Tuesday, May 10 via live selection show at 6 p.m. CDT.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• The top-five teams stayed intact for the fourth-straight edition.
• Oklahoma City earned the No. 1 ranking for the sixth-straight week and 34th overall time. The Stars posted 18-of-19 first-place votes and 529 total points.
• With a NAIA-best 58-2 record, the Stars have now reached the 50-win threshold in each of the last four seasons.
• After winning the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) regular-season championship, Oklahoma City tripped up in the SAC tournament and had its 29-game win streak halted against Texas Wesleyan on May 6 by a 3-2 score.
• The Stars are one of 19 NAIA softball teams to reach at least 40 wins on the year. Second-ranked Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) and No. 4 Campbellsville (Ky.) are next in line with 48 victories.
• Auburn Montgomery gathered the remaining first-place vote and tallied 509 total points.
• No. 3 St. Gregory’s (Okla.), No. 4 Campbellsville and fifth-ranked Saint Xavier (Ill.) round out the top five.
• No. 10 (tied) Martin Methodist (Tenn.) and No. 19 Central Methodist (Mo.) both slid up two positions, the best positive improvement this week.
• No. 13 Georgia Gwinnett and No. 20 Houston-Victoria (Texas) suffered a two-spot fall, which was the worst downhill slide.
• No. 23 Grand View (Iowa), behind seven-straight wins, is the lone newcomer in the Top 25. The Vikings were last ranked three weeks ago.
• Tied in the 10th spot, Martin Methodist enjoys its first top-10 ranking since Feb. 2, 2010 (No. 8).
• Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 120-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch, which goes back to the start of the 2004 season. William Carey (Miss.) is second with 83-consecutive mentions. Next in line for consecutive streaks is Auburn Montgomery at 49-straight; St. Gregory’s at 47 and Lindsey Wilson at 44.
• Former member California Baptist tops the charts of most all-time No. 1 mentions with 46. Oklahoma City is second all-time with 34, followed by former member Concordia (Calif.) with 24, former member Simon Fraser (B.C.) with 18 and Thomas (Ga.) with 13.
• The Southern States Athletic Conference leads all leagues with three schools represented: Auburn Montgomery, No. 8 William Carey (Miss.) and Martin Methodist. Overall, five conferences send multiple schools into the Top 25.
• Through all nine polls this year (including Preseason), there have been 40 different ranked teams.
• Thirteen teams have held a ranking each week (through nine polls).
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”
• For the complete calendar of 2016 Top 25 Polls, click here.
2016 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – May 10 (Final)
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2016 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Oklahoma City (18) | 58-2 | 529 |
| 2 | 2 | Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) (1) | 48-6 | 509 |
| 3 | 3 | St. Gregory's (Okla.) | 43-5 | 495 |
| 4 | 4 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 48-8 | 481 |
| 5 | 5 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 40-7-1 | 451 |
| 6 | 6 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 44-12 | 447 |
| 7 | 7 | Simpson (Calif.) | 40-4 | 430 |
| 8 | 8 | William Carey (Miss.) | 36-15 | 416 |
| 9 | 9 | LSU Alexandria | 46-10 | 386 |
| T10 | 12 | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | 45-14 | 349 |
| T10 | 10 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 39-14 | 349 |
| 12 | 13 | Davenport (Mich.) | 38-10 | 341 |
| 13 | 11 | Georgia Gwinnett | 41-17 | 340 |
| 14 | 14 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 41-10 | 307 |
| 15 | 15 | Morningside (Iowa) | 44-8 | 300 |
| 16 | 16 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 45-10 | 266 |
| 17 | 17 | Marian (Ind.) | 44-9 | 252 |
| 18 | 19 | Arizona Christian | 37-14-1 | 219 |
| 19 | 21 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 41-16 | 203 |
| 20 | 18 | Houston-Victoria (Texas) | 36-13 | 183 |
| 21 | 20 | Southern Oregon | 36-16 | 180 |
| 22 | 22 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 40-7 | 178 |
| 23 | RV | Grand View (Iowa) | 43-9 | 141 |
| 24 | 24 | Park (Mo.) | 30-15-1 | 137 |
| 25 | 25 | Friends (Kan.) | 35-12 | 119 |
Dropped from rankings: No. 23 Oregon Tech.
Others Receiving Votes: Oregon Tech 66; Williams Baptist (Ark.) 48; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 43; Brenau (Ga.) 32; Huntington (Ind.) 31; Indiana Wesleyan 29; Menlo (Calif.) 28; Doane (Neb.) 19; Valley City State (N.D.) 17; Webber International (Fla.) 12; Science & Arts (Okla.) 9; USC Beaufort (S.C.) 5; Milligan (Tenn.) 3; Ashford (Iowa) 3.
