2019 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll — Poll 4 (April 16)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tennessee Wesleyan made a charge with six of the 18 first-place votes, but it was Southeastern (Fla.) who finished in the top spot of the Baseball Coaches’ Top 25. The Bulldogs have been one of the top teams in the nation all season and have won 16 of their last 17 games leading-up to their No. 2 ranking.

Georgia Gwinnett cracked the top three this week as it continues to rattle-off wins. The Grizzlies are in the midst of a 14-game winning streak with a pair of victories over No. 15 Lyon (Ark.) during that stretch. Faulkner (Ala.) stayed in the top five, but dropped two spots after dropping the weekend set to Bethel (Tenn.). Cumberlands (Ky.) rounded-out the top five, up two spots from No. 7.

 

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1999)

  • Southeastern (Fla.) received 11 of the 18 first-place votes this week to cling to their top ranking. Despite a setback over the weekend at the hands of then-No. 10 St. Thomas (Fla.), the Fire are still leading the nation in runs scored per game (10.065), batting average (.365), runs scored (463), total R.B.I. (408) and slugging percentage (.618)
  • Manuel Mesa is doing it all for the Fire this season. He not only leads the team in batting average (.424), but leads the team in stolen bases with 24. Mesa is ranked in the top 10 in 10 offensive statistical categories.
  • Tennessee Wesleyan is battling it out with Truett McConnell (Ga.) in the Appalachian Athletic Conference while making its case for the top spot in the country. It’s 10-5 loss to Truett McConnell on April 4 is its only loss in a month.
  • St. Thomas (Fla.) made a big jump this week from No. 10 to No. 6. The Bobcats are coming off a three-game sweep of No. 1-ranked Southeastern over the weekend and have won five of their last six.
  • Westmont (Calif.) made the biggest jump from No. 18 to No. 13 this week.
  • IU Southeast (Ind.) and Bellevue (Neb.) are the newcomers to the poll this week, snagging the final two spots.
  • 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 (6).

 

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.

2019 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll 4 (April 16)

RANK LAST WEEK SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] RECORD FINAL POINTS
1 1 Southeastern (Fla.) 39-7 491
2 3 Tennessee Wesleyan 37-7 484
3 4 Georgia Gwinnett 36-8 463
4 2 Faulkner (Ala.) 34-10 453
5 7 Cumberlands (Ky.) 38-5 429
6 10 St. Thomas (Fla.) 34-11 409
7 6 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 34-11 405
8 9 Science & Arts (Okla.) 32-10 398
9 5 Oklahoma City 37-10 362
10 8 Middle Georgia State 31-11 347
11 11 LSU Shreveport (La.) 36-9 345
12 12 Oklahoma Wesleyan 32-9 324
13 18 Westmont (Calif.) 31-10 293
14 15 Texas Wesleyan 37-8 289
15 17 Lyon (Ark.) 33-13 269
16 13 Central Methodist (Mo.) 26-9 267
17 21 Georgetown (Ky.) 34-10 223
18 20 Truett-McConnell (Ga.) 25-12 205
19 25 Webber International (Fla.) 31-16 196
20 23 The Master’s (Calif.) 27-13-1 182
21 22 Indiana Tech 25-13 173
22 16 Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) 35-12 164
23 24 Bryan (Tenn.) 29-12 162
24 NR Indiana Southeast (Ind.) 27-14 123
25 NR Bellevue (Neb.) 28-14 82

Dropped from the Top 25: Warner (Fla.), Vanguard (Calif.).

Others Receiving Votes: Keiser (Fla.) 61, Arizona Christian 60, Southwestern Christian (Okla.) 57, Rio Grande (Ohio) 41, Missouri Baptist 25, William Penn (Iowa) 21, Warner (Fla.) 20, Hope International (Calif.) 20, Vanguard (Calif.) 14, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 11, McPherson (Kan.) 10, Campbellsville (Ky.) 10, Antelope Valley (Calif.) 9, Madonna (Mich.) 4, LSU Alexandria (La.) 3, Huntington (Ind.) 3, Point (Ga.) 3.