LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Southern Arkansas remained on top of the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Muleriders (2-0), who opened 2021 with a doubleheader sweep of Delta State, collected 15 first-place votes and 399 points.
SAU knocked off DSU, 17-0 and 12-5, to extend its winning streak to 18 games. Like many programs across the country, the Muleriders endured multiple postponements due to the inclement weather.
North Georgia, idle Augustana, University of Texas at Tyler and Young Harris followed Southern Arkansas to make up the top five. The NightHawks (6-0) earned the other first-place vote (381 points) following a perfect start to the season. UNG opened with three shutouts, and after a one-run win over West Florida, exploded offensively in a pair of run-rule triumphs over Hillsdale (18-2, 12-2).
The Patriots topped Montevallo (12-1, 10-3) in a pair of contests, while the Mountain Lions (5-1) went 4-0 at the UAH Charger Chillout. One of those victories was a 15-5 win over then-No. 10 Trevecca Nazarene.
Other top-10 programs that saw action in the opening two weeks were No. 7 Texas A&M University-Commerce, No. 9 Angelo State and No. 10 Valdosta State. Hosting the 2021 Lion Invitational, A&M-Commerce collected two shutout wins over Texas A&M International (13-0, 6-0) and split with Arkansas Tech (5-3, 1-4).
The ninth-ranked Rambelles opened two weekends ago at St. Mary’s. After defeating the host Rattlers, 8-6, Angelo State fell to new-No. 23 Texas A&M-Kingsville, 4-2. The Javelinas, who received votes in the preseason poll, also blanked St. Mary’s, 2-0.
Tenth-ranked Valdosta State rounds out the top-10. The Blazers (2-1) rebounded from an opening loss at Flagler (0-1) to top Ursuline (9-1) and Georgia Southwestern (7-1).
Trevecca Nazarene, who entered the preseason at No. 10, fell out of the poll following an 0-4 start to the season.
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 February 14. In 2021, universities that are not competing will not be eligible for the poll.
2021 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll
February 17 (Week 1)
|
Rank |
School |
Points |
2021 Record |
Last Poll |
|
1 |
Southern Arkansas (15) |
399 |
2-0 |
1 |
|
2 |
North Georgia (1) |
385 |
6-0 |
2 |
|
3 |
Augustana |
363 |
0-0 |
3 |
|
4 |
UT Tyler |
353 |
2-0 |
4 |
|
5 |
Young Harris |
327 |
5-1 |
6 |
|
6 |
Saint Leo |
318 |
0-0 |
7 |
|
7 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
311 |
3-1 |
9 |
|
8 |
Rollins |
292 |
0-0 |
8 |
|
9 |
Angelo State |
271 |
1-1 |
5 |
|
10 |
Valdosta State |
233 |
2-1 |
12 |
|
11 |
Concordia Irvine |
231 |
0-0 |
11 |
|
12 |
Oklahoma Christian |
220 |
2-0 |
13 |
|
13 |
Winona State |
188 |
0-0 |
15 |
|
14 |
Saint Anselm |
185 |
0-0 |
14 |
|
15 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
176 |
0-0 |
16 |
|
16 |
Southern Indiana |
167 |
0-0 |
17 |
|
17 |
UAH |
149 |
5-1 |
20 |
|
18 |
Rogers State |
134 |
0-0 |
18 |
|
19 |
Indianapolis |
115 |
0-0 |
21 |
|
20 |
Lincoln Memorial |
106 |
3-0 |
22 |
|
21 |
West Chester |
69 |
0-0 |
24 |
|
22 |
Tampa |
50 |
0-0 |
24 |
|
23 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
45 |
2-0 |
RV |
|
24 |
Grand Valley State |
43 |
0-0 |
25 |
|
25 |
Lubbock Christian |
19 |
5-2 |
19 |
Receiving Votes: Minnesota State (17), Metropolitan State University of Denver (8), St. Cloud State (6), Francis Marion (5), Saginaw Valley State (5), Adelphi (4), Central Oklahoma (3), Biola (2), West Liberty (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 February 14.
