KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the second-straight poll, Georgia Gwinnett captures the No. 1 position in the second regular-season installment of the 2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. With a 29-2 record, the Grizzlies posted 14 first-place votes and 524 total points.
Top 25 Highlights
- Currently on a 10-game win streak, Georgia Gwinnett next hosts Brewton-Parker (Ga.) on Thursday. The Grizzlies are a perfect 18-0 this year at home.
- As a team, Georgia Gwinnett is second in the NAIA in stolen bases (95), fourth in ERA (1.30), fifth in runs scored (235) and seventh in RBI (207).
- No. 2 Science & Arts (Okla.) (4) and No. 3 Marian (Ind.) (1) also earned first-place votes.
- No. 5 Vanguard (Calif.) has the most wins in the NAIA with a 33-4 record.
- No. 18 Central Methodist (Mo.), No. 23 Baker (Kan.) and No. 24 Oregon Tech are this week’s newcomers. Both Central Methodist and Oregon Tech were mentioned last year at least once. Baker is recognized for the first time since April 20, 2005 (No. 22).
2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll No. 2 (March 27, 2018)
| Rank | Last Week | School (1st Place) | 2018 | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Georgia Gwinnett (14) | 29-2 | 524 |
| 2 | 3 | Science & Arts (Okla.) (4) | 28-1 | 507 |
| 3 | 2 | Marian (Ind.) (1) | 15-1 | 501 |
| 4 | 4 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 22-3 | 473 |
| 5 | 5 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 33-4 | 461 |
| 6 | 7 | Oklahoma City | 24-5 | 434 |
| 7 | 8 | Corban (Ore.) | 17-4 | 415 |
| 8 | 6 | Columbia (Mo.) | 11-4 | 389 |
| 9 | 9 | William Carey (Miss.) | 19-5 | 387 |
| 10 | 12 | Thomas (Ga.) | 24-6 | 364 |
| 11 | 11 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 21-4 | 363 |
| 12 | 10 | Indiana Wesleyan | 22-3 | 357 |
| 13 | 15 | Mobile (Ala.) | 24-5 | 316 |
| 14 | 14 | Southern Oregon | 26-8 | 311 |
| 15 | 20 | Hope International (Calif.) | 26-4 | 260 |
| 16 | 21 | Jamestown (N.D.) | 24-4 | 248 |
| 17 | 18 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 15-5 | 241 |
| 18 | NR | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 20-2 | 237 |
| 19 | 13 | Brenau (Ga.) | 14-9 | 221 |
| 20 | 19 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 21-7 | 211 |
| 21 | 23 | Faulkner (Ala.) | 24-8 | 184 |
| 22 | 24 | Warner (Fla.) | 21-8 | 152 |
| 23 | NR | Baker (Kan.) | 22-5 | 137 |
| 24 | NR | Oregon Tech | 19-5 | 128 |
| 25 | 22 | Morningside (Iowa) | 13-8 | 91 |
Others Receiving Votes: Cumberland (Tenn.) 70; Grand View (Iowa) 57; Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 52; Valley City State (N.D.) 45; LSU Alexandria (La.) 41; Rio Grande (Ohio) 37; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 28; Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 22; Webber International (Fla.) 13; Aquinas (Mich.) 9; USC Beaufort (S.C.) 9; Lyon (Ark.) 9; Menlo (Calif.) 8; Northwestern (Iowa) 8; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 8; Truett-McConnell (Ga.) 3.
Dropped Out: No. 16 Grand View (Iowa), No. 17 USC Beaufort (S.C.), No. 25 Lyon (Ark.)
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”
- Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly.
-- Courtesy of NAIA
