LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Defending national champion Trine continued to set the pace atop the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll for an eighth consecutive week, going back to the final ranking of last season.
The No. 1 (22-1) Thunder swept Kalamazoo on Saturday to run their victory streak to 20 games and lead an unchanged top 15. Seven teams in that group have won at least 12 straight games, including No. 3 Linfield, which has won all 24 of its contests this season.
Second-ranked Salisbury (18-1) and No. 15 Wisconsin-Whitewater (13-1) have both dropped just one contest in 2024. The Sea Gulls split a March 14 twinbill with receiving votes Lynchburg, and Whitewater lost Saturday to DePauw, which has defeated seven ranked teams this season, tied No. 8 Randolph-Macon and lost to No. 19 Dominican by one run.
Fifth-ranked Berry, meanwhile, was the first ranked team to reach 30 wins. The (30-3) Vikings wrapped up their third-straight Southern Athletic Association regular-season crown with a three-game sweep of Birmingham-Southern.
The first change in the rankings doesn’t come until the No. 16 and 17 spots, where Tufts and Pfeiffer swapped places. The (27-1) Falcons lost 1-0 last Tuesday to N.C. Wesleyan after winning their first 25 games, while Tufts (18-4) won all four of its games and has won five straight and nine of its last 10.
No. 22 Ramapo (17-3) and 23rd-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh (18-0) moved up one place apiece, while Central (15-6) returned to the No. 24 spot after one week in the receiving votes category.
Illinois Wesleyan, which lost just 1-0 to No. 15 Whitewater and has won 11 of its last 13, is the lone newcomer to the rankings this week. The (13-6) Titans, who defeated then-No. 3 Berry earlier this season, are tied with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (10-4) for the No. 25 spot.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll is selected by 10 NCAA Division III head coaches representing the 10 NCAA regions. Current records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
April 9, 2024
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
2024 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Trine (10) |
250 |
24-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Salisbury |
240 |
18-1 |
2 |
|
3 |
Linfield |
230 |
24-0 |
3 |
|
4 |
East Texas Baptist |
220 |
24-2 |
4 |
|
5 |
Berry |
210 |
30-3 |
5 |
|
6 |
Case Western Reserve |
200 |
23-2 |
6 |
|
7 |
Belhaven |
190 |
28-4 |
7 |
|
8 |
Randolph-Macon |
180 |
16-2-2 |
8 |
|
9 |
Christopher Newport |
170 |
18-5 |
9 |
|
10 |
Bethel |
160 |
15-3 |
10 |
|
11 |
Huntingdon |
150 |
24-4 |
11 |
|
12 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
140 |
17-6 |
12 |
|
13 |
Rowan |
130 |
21-5 |
13 |
|
14 |
Texas Lutheran |
120 |
20-2 |
14 |
|
15 |
Wisconsin-Whitewater |
110 |
13-1 |
15 |
|
16 |
Tufts |
100 |
18-4 |
17 |
|
17 |
Pfeiffer |
90 |
27-1 |
16 |
|
18 |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
80 |
17-0-1 |
18 |
|
19 |
Dominican |
70 |
21-1 |
19 |
|
20 |
Wisconsin-Stevens Point |
60 |
16-2 |
20 |
|
21 |
Transylvania |
50 |
15-6 |
21 |
|
22 |
Ramapo |
32 |
17-3 |
23 |
|
23 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
28 |
18-0 |
T24 |
|
24 |
Central |
9 |
15-6 |
RV |
|
T25 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
8 |
13-6 |
NR |
|
T25 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
8 |
10-4 |
22 |
Others receiving votes: Eastern 6, Lynchburg 4, Saint Mary’s (Minn.) 4 and Coe 1.
Dropped out: Hardin-Simmons and Moravian.
2024 NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee
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