LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Defending national champion Texas Lutheran is back as the top dog in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll for the first time since the third week of 2020.
The (27-4) Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 254-58 this season, and head into Friday’s Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on a 19-game win streak. They have now won 23 of their last 24, and are 46-5 since beating Emory, 6-1, on May 27, 2019 for their first Division III national championship.
As a team, Texas Lutheran is hitting .391 on offense, while compiling a 1.89 earned-run average on defense. They have been ranked no worse than fourth this season, including second the last two weeks.
Meanwhile, Virginia Wesleyan (31-5-1), which won the two NCAA titles before the Bulldogs, slipped to second this week following two weeks in the top spot. The Marlins crammed eight games into six days, but lost two of those to unranked squads. Virginia Wesleyan starts its quest for a fifth-straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference crown on Saturday.
There is a tie at No. 3 between unbeaten Eastern Connecticut State (20-0) and Birmingham-Southern (28-4). The Warriors stayed put this week after climbing 12 spots over the past four polls, while the Panthers gained three places after claiming their second-straight Southern Athletic Association Tournament title on Sunday.
The rest of the first 13 were unanimous for the committee, while undefeated Williams (9-0) and Rochester (23-6) were the two new teams voted into the Top 25 this week.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses. In 2021, schools that are not competing will not be eligible for the poll.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – April 28, 2021
|
Rank |
Team |
2021 Record |
Points |
Previous |
|
1 |
Texas Lutheran (8) |
27-4 |
200 |
2 |
|
2 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
31-5-1 |
192 |
1 |
|
T3 |
Birmingham-Southern |
28-4 |
184 |
6 |
|
Eastern Connecticut State |
20-0 |
184 |
3 |
|
|
5 |
DePauw |
25-2 |
168 |
7 |
|
6 |
Belhaven |
27-8 |
160 |
8 |
|
7 |
East Texas Baptist |
23-5 |
152 |
4 |
|
8 |
Linfield |
31-5 |
144 |
5 |
|
9 |
Moravian |
18-0 |
136 |
T10 |
|
10 |
Emory & Henry |
23-5 |
128 |
9 |
|
11 |
Berry |
25-8 |
120 |
T10 |
|
12 |
St. John Fisher |
22-2 |
112 |
13 |
|
13 |
Salisbury |
21-7 |
104 |
12 |
|
14 |
Christopher Newport |
24-10 |
95 |
14 |
|
15 |
Wartburg |
22-6 |
86 |
16 |
|
16 |
Randolph-Macon |
14-7-1 |
70 |
T17 |
|
17 |
St. Scholastica |
29-3 |
64 |
T19 |
|
18 |
The College of New Jersey |
15-3 |
56 |
T19 |
|
19 |
Mount Union |
26-6 |
44 |
15 |
|
20 |
Concordia (Wis.) |
25-5 |
43 |
24 |
|
21 |
Rowan |
23-5 |
42 |
21 |
|
22 |
St. Olaf |
17-3 |
31 |
T22 |
|
23 |
Williams |
9-0 |
23 |
NR |
|
24 |
Milwaukee School of Engineering |
25-5 |
18 |
T17 |
|
25 |
Rochester |
23-6 |
16 |
RV |
Others receiving votes: Saint Benedict 10, Alvernia 9, Misericordia 5, Aurora 4, Coe 4, Trine 4.
Dropped out: Alfred, Cortland, Kean, Mount St. Joseph, Southern Maine and Transylvania.
Programs that do not participate during the 2021 season will not be eligible for the poll.
