LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 1 UT Tyler is off to a 9-0 start and holds the unanimous No. 1 spot in the first 2025 NFCA/GoRout Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll of the regular season. With several programs suffering early-season defeats, the rankings saw a major shift up and down the poll.
The Patriots kicked off with five wins on opening weekend at the DII First Pitch Invitational in Conroe, Texas. Four of those came via shutout, including a 3-0 win over then-No. 21 Colorado Mesa. They followed up with four more victories at the Alvy Early Memorial Classic, knocking off Missouri Southern, Arkansas Tech, Emporia State and Southern Arkansas.
With preseason No. 2 Western Washington, No. 3 Indianapolis and No. 4 Lenoir-Rhyne going a combined 5-12, it made room for Auburn-Montgomery, North Georgia, Wilmington and Tampa to make up the next four teams behind UT Tyler. The Warhawks (5-2) picked up two top-10 wins over Lenoir-Rhyne and new-No. 8 Rogers State on the opening weekend with their only defeat versus new-No. 13 Central Oklahoma. They went 3-1 at Embry-Riddle’s tournament the following weekend.
The third-ranked NightHawks and fifth-ranked Spartans posted 6-2 and 7-1 records, respectively. UNG grabbed wins against Florida Tech, Barry, Union, Lake Erie (2) and West Florida, while Tampa opened with eight home games, sweeping three doubleheaders against Georgia Southwestern, UAH and Valdosta State, along with a split with West Alabama.
Wilmington opens its season on Feb. 21.
The latter half of the top 10 consists of No. 6 Augustana (5-3), No. 7 Angelo State (9-1), No. 8 Rogers State (6-3), No. 9 Trevecca Nazarene (9-0) and No. 10 Western Washington (1-4). Of this quintet, the ninth-ranked Trojans made the second biggest jump in the rankings, moving up from No. 17 after sweeping the Music City Invitational and the Charger Chillout. It is Trevecca Nazarene’s first foray into the top 10, as its highest ranking is No. 11 in the final poll of the 2020 shortened season.
The sixth-ranked Vikings won five straight after dropping their first three contests at the Mardi Gras Invitational. The Rambelles opened their season with seven wins, while the Hillcats rebounded from a 1-3 start with five victories, including a pair of shutouts.
Tenth-ranked Western Washington’s lone victory was against then-No. 15 Cal State Dominguez Hills. Along with the Vikings, the previously-mentioned UIndy Greyhounds and Lenoir-Rhyne Bears dropped to 16th and 17th, respectively.
The biggest mover was Central Oklahoma, which opened at No. 25 and vaulted 12 spots to No. 13. The Bronchos (7-1) opened their season with seven wins, including three against preseason top-20 programs – Lenoir-Rhyne, Auburn-Montgomery and then-No. 20 Southern Nazarene.
Four programs – No. 21 Harding, No. 22 Nova Southeastern, No. 23 McKendree and No. 25 Kutztown – join the poll this week with Wingate (19th), Southern Nazarene, Colorado Mesa and Lewis (22nd) dropped out. It marks the first ranking for the 23rd-ranked Bearcats since May 2, 2018 (25th).
The 2025 NFCA/GoRout Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by the NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll Committee. The committee consists of 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the NCAA’s eight regions. The poll will be announced Tuesdays at noon ET throughout the regular season.
2025 NFCA/GoRout Division II Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
2/11/25 (Week 1)
|
Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
2025 Record |
Previous Ranking |
|
1 |
UT Tyler (16) |
400 |
9-0 |
1 |
|
2 |
AUM |
375 |
5-2 |
6 |
|
3 |
North Georgia |
361 |
6-2 |
8 |
|
4 |
Wilmington |
337 |
0-0 |
5 |
|
5 |
Tampa |
335 |
7-1 |
10 |
|
6 |
Augustana |
327 |
5-3 |
7 |
|
7 |
Angelo State |
314 |
9-1 |
11 |
|
8 |
Rogers State |
280 |
6-3 |
9 |
|
9 |
Trevecca Nazarene |
251 |
9-0 |
17 |
|
10 |
Western Washington |
236 |
1-4 |
2 |
|
11 |
West Texas A&M |
234 |
10-0 |
13 |
|
12 |
Francis Marion |
212 |
6-2 |
14 |
|
13 |
Central Oklahoma |
183 |
7-1 |
25 |
|
14 |
Cal State San Marcos |
177 |
10-1 |
23 |
|
15 |
Mississippi College |
175 |
6-4 |
12 |
|
16 |
Indianapolis |
159 |
1-3 |
3 |
|
17 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
146 |
3-5 |
4 |
|
18 |
East Stroudsburg |
134 |
4-2 |
16 |
|
19 |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
131 |
7-2 |
15 |
|
20 |
Oklahoma Christian |
129 |
7-1 |
24 |
|
21 |
Harding |
103 |
9-1 |
|
|
22 |
Nova Southeastern |
58 |
8-3 |
RV |
|
23 |
McKendree |
35 |
7-1 |
|
|
24 |
Northwest Nazarene |
32 |
5-4 |
18 |
|
25 |
Kutztown |
25 |
5-0 |
RV |
New to Poll: No. 21 Harding, No. 22 Nova Southeastern, No. 23 McKendree, No. 25 Kutztown
Dropped Out: No. 19 Wingate, No. 20 Southern Nazarene, No. 21 Colorado Mesa, No. 22 Lewis
Receiving Votes: Lubbock Christian (24), Saint Leo (13), Lincoln Memorial (9), Pittsburg State (3), Cal State East Bay (2).
The 2025 NFCA/Go Rout Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by the NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll Committee. The committee consists of 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the NCAA’s eight regions. Records reflect games played through Feb. 9.
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