LOUISVILLE, Ky. – North Georgia held on to the No. 1 ranking in this week’s NFCA DII Top 25 Coaches Poll. The NightHawks (12-0) edged out No. 2 Texas A&M University-Commerce by four points after receiving 10 first-place votes and 393 points. The Lions (18-4) tallied six first-place nods and 389 points.
The top seven in the poll remained the same, while Concordia Irvine, Southern Arkansas and West Texas A&M elevated into the final three spots of the top 10. There was one newcomer this week as Shepherd (14-1) joined the ranks at No. 21.
UNG returned to play on March 22 (after voting closed) following a pause to the program that began on March 5. A&M-Commerce ran its win streak to 14 games with two more Lone Star Conference (LSC) sweeps, topping Midwestern State (3-1, 8-0) and Texas Woman’s (12-3, 2-0) at home.
No. 3 Augustana (8-2) returned to the field for the first time since Feb. 28 and picked up two wins each against then-No. 23 Central Oklahoma (10-8, 4-3) and host Emporia State (6-2, 5-3).
No. 4 Lincoln Memorial is the first Division II program to reach the 20-win mark after four shutouts in South Atlantic Conference action. The Railsplitters (22-1) blanked Mars Hill (8-0, 10-0) and Queens (8-0, 8-0) to extend their win streak to 12.
No. 5 Rollins and No. 6 UT Tyler went undefeated in conference play, while No. 7 Valdosta State captured four non-conference wins. The Tars (8-0) swept four games from Lynn (3-1, 8-0, 9-0, 5-4) and the Patriots (18-4) knocked off Western New Mexico (8-1, 14-6), Texas Woman’s (3-0, 4-0) and Midwestern State (4-1, 8-0. The Blazers (16-3) topped Albany State (15-0, 9-2) and Georgia Southwestern (4-0, 6-5).
The eighth-ranked Eagles (9-4) took three-of-four from Azusa Pacific (3-1, 6-2, 7-4, 0-7) in PacWest action. The Muleriders (9-3) returned to the top-10 following a 4-1 week. No. 9 SAU split with then-No. 18 Texas A&M-Kingsville before sweeping a Great American Conference road series from East Central (8-7, 7-1, 6-1).
The Lady Buffs (18-6) catapulted from the 18th spot to No. 10, winning three-of-four LSC road games. WT split with Texas A&M International (1-4, 7-0) and edged A&M-Kingsville (5-3, 4-3).
No. 21 Shepherd is off to a 14-1 start having won its last twelve contests, including 10-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
The 2021 NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. Records reflect games played through March 21. In 2021, universities that are not competing will not be eligible for the poll.
2021 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll
March 24 (Week 6)
|
Rank |
School |
Points |
2021 Record |
Last Poll |
|
1 |
North Georgia (10) |
393 |
12-0 |
1 |
|
2 |
Texas A&M-Commerce (6) |
389 |
18-4 |
2 |
|
3 |
Augustana |
363 |
8-2 |
3 |
|
4 |
Lincoln Memorial |
349 |
22-1 |
4 |
|
5 |
Rollins |
337 |
8-0 |
5 |
|
6 |
UT Tyler |
326 |
18-4 |
6 |
|
7 |
Valdosta State |
305 |
16-3 |
7 |
|
8 |
Concordia Irvine |
280 |
9-4 |
10 |
|
9 |
Southern Arkansas |
269 |
9-3 |
12 |
|
10 |
West Texas A&M |
241 |
18-6 |
18 |
|
11 |
Indianapolis |
226 |
11-2 |
13 |
|
12 |
Rogers State |
210 |
12-6 |
9 |
|
13 |
Young Harris |
206 |
17-4 |
15 |
|
14 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
195 |
16-5 |
15 |
|
15 |
Winona State |
182 |
11-2 |
14 |
|
16 |
Oklahoma Christian |
167 |
17-5 |
8 |
|
17 |
West Florida |
149 |
18-7 |
21 |
|
18 |
Saint Anselm |
104 |
1-1 |
17 |
|
19 |
Grand Valley State |
97 |
9-3 |
19 |
|
20 |
Colorado Mesa |
75 |
12-0 |
22 |
|
21 |
Shepherd |
61 |
14-1 |
RV |
|
22 |
UAH |
48 |
14-7 |
25 |
|
23 |
Saint Leo |
46 |
8-4 |
11 |
|
24 |
Angelo State |
43 |
16-7 |
24 |
|
25 |
Central Oklahoma |
41 |
14-6 |
23 |
New to Poll: No. 21 Shepherd
Dropped Out: No. 20 West Chester
Receiving Votes: West Chester (24), Anderson (22), Western Washington (17), Minnesota State (16), Northwest Nazarene (9), Texas A&M International (6), Central Missouri (2), Auburn Montgomery (1), Trevecca Nazarene (1).
The 2021 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the NCAA’s eight regions. Records reflect games played through March 21.
