2019 Preseason Polls Released

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Coming off a national championship run in 2018, Southeastern (Fla.) grabbed the top spot in the preseason edition of the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) and Georgia Gwinnett held down the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, while Faulkner (Ala.) leap-frogged Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) from last season’s postseason poll to round-out the top five.

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1999)

  • Southeastern captured its first-ever NAIA National Championship in 2018.
  • The Fire received all 18 first-place votes.
  • Tennessee Wesleyan made the largest jump from the postseason poll in June. The Bulldogs went from No. 17 to No. 12 in the 2019 Preseason Poll, coming just shy of an Avista-NAIA World Series berth a season ago.
  • Webber International (Fla.) also made sizeable gains from a season ago. The Warriors jumped out of the receiving vote mix into the poll at No. 18 after completing a 37-24 season in 2018.
  • Lewis-Clark State leads all active members with 59 total No. 1 mentions since 2000. Ten other teams have been ranked No. 1 in at least two polls: Oklahoma City (34), Faulkner (19), former member Lubbock Christian (Texas) (13), former member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (11), Georgia Gwinnett (8), LSU Shreveport (La.) (6), former member Lee (Tenn.) (6), Cumberland (Tenn.) (6), Tennessee Wesleyan (2) and Southeastern (1).

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 on the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
  • The frequency of the polls is bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) prior to the 2016-17 academic season. This change allows raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work between rating periods.
  • For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.

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2019 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Preseason (Nov. 6)

RANK LAST WEEK SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] 2018 RECORD FINAL POINTS
1 1 Southeastern (Fla.) [18] 59-7 498
2 2 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 47-16 470
3 3 Georgia Gwinnett 50-12 468
4 5 Faulkner (Ala.) 54-9 452
5 4 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 40-13 435
6 8 St. Thomas (Fla.) 56-9 416
7 6 Antelope Valley (Calif.) 46-14-1 397
8 7 Oklahoma City 51-10 392
9 11 Oklahoma Wesleyan 51-6 353
10 9 University of Northwestern Ohio 43-20 341
11 13 Science & Arts (Okla.) 46-8 328
12 17 Tennessee Wesleyan 39-21 325
13 12 William Jessup (Calif.) 41-17 322
14 20 Campbellsville (Ky.) 44-19 274
15 14 Bryan (Tenn.) 41-17 263
16 15 Point Park (Pa.) 47-9 248
17 18 Middle Georgia State 45-18 224
18 RV Webber International (Fla.) 37-24 210
19 16 Cumberlands (Ky.) 47-11 183
20 10 Reinhardt (Ga.) 41-20 168
21 24 Central Methodist (Mo.) 41-16 157
22 23 Indiana Tech 44-21 137
23 RV Bellevue (Neb.) 38-23 132
24 19 Keiser (Fla.) 38-19 113
25 RV Westmont (Calif.) 34-18 101
25 RV LSU Shreveport (La.) 40-22 101

 

Dropped from the Top 25: Jamestown (N.D.), Mobile (Ala.), Lyon (Ark.)

Others Receiving Votes: Indiana Southeast (Ind.) 90, Mobile (Ala.) 86, Jamestown (N.D.) 71, Texas Wesleyan 49, Missouri Baptist 40, Cumberland (Tenn.) 18, Clarke (Iowa) 15, Tabor (Kan.) 11, Indiana Wesleyan 9, Madonna (Mich.) 8, Judson (Ill.) 8, Mayville State (N.D.) 7, Point (Ga.) 3

Source: http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=211779286