LOUISVILLE, Ky. —Texas Lutheran continues to sit atop the NFCA Division III Top 25, as the defending national champion and seven-time reigning Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament titlist awaits word of its place in the NCAA tournament field.
The (28-4) Bulldogs have won 20 straight games heading into the tournament, and are 47-5 since defeating Emory for its first Division III crown in 2019. The bracket will be revealed this coming Monday (May 17) at 1 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
Meanwhile, DePauw (32-2) continued its climb up the rankings, tying Virginia Wesleyan (37-5-1) for second this week. The Tigers play Hiram for the North Coast Athletic Conference crown on Thursday and Friday, while the Marlins collected their fifth straight Old Dominion Athletic Conference title last weekend.
Unbeaten Moravian (28-0) highlights an unchanged next three teams, running its win streak to 32 games after eliminating Susquehanna in the Landmark Conference tournament. The Greyhounds play Scranton for the conference title on Saturday.
Southern Athletic Conference champion Birmingham-Southern (29-5) has been idle since splitting two games with Division II Montevallo on April 28, while Eastern Connecticut State (27-2) beat Plymouth State last Saturday to reach Thursday’s Little East tournament final against Keene State.
East Texas Baptist (30-5) benefited twice from Belhaven’s surprising early exit from the American Southwest Conference tournament. First, it cleared the path for the Tigers’ second straight conference crown, and it also allowed them to move up the seventh in the Top 25.
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 are not eligible for the poll.
There will be one more weekly ranking next Wednesday, then a final Top 25 following the completion of the NCAA tournament.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – May 12, 2021
|
Rank |
Team |
2021 Record |
Points |
Previous |
|
1 |
Texas Lutheran (8) |
28-4 |
200 |
1 |
|
T2 |
DePauw |
32-2 |
192 |
3 |
|
Virginia Wesleyan |
37-5-1 |
192 |
2 |
|
|
4 |
Moravian |
28-0 |
176 |
4 |
|
5 |
Birmingham-Southern |
29-5 |
168 |
5 |
|
6 |
Eastern Connecticut State |
27-2 |
160 |
6 |
|
7 |
East Texas Baptist |
30-5 |
152 |
8 |
|
8 |
Linfield |
36-7 |
144 |
11 |
|
9 |
Salisbury |
24-7 |
136 |
T12 |
|
10 |
Berry |
25-8 |
128 |
10 |
|
11 |
Christopher Newport |
28-12 |
113 |
T12 |
|
12 |
St. John Fisher |
26-3 |
109 |
14 |
|
13 |
Belhaven |
30-10 |
99 |
7 |
|
14 |
The College of New Jersey |
21-3 |
95 |
16 |
|
15 |
Emory & Henry |
26-7 |
81 |
9 |
|
16 |
Mount Union |
32-6 |
79 |
18 |
|
17 |
Randolph-Macon |
14-7-1 |
55 |
17 |
|
18 |
Rowan |
27-7 |
54 |
21 |
|
19 |
Coe |
23-11 |
48 |
NR |
|
20 |
Rochester |
29-8 |
37 |
22 |
|
21 |
St. Olaf |
22-4 |
35 |
19 |
|
22 |
Trine |
30-8 |
33 |
NR |
|
23 |
Transylvania |
26-8 |
31 |
NR |
|
24 |
Wartburg |
26-8 |
24 |
15 |
|
25 |
Concordia (Wis.) |
31-8 |
20 |
20 |
Others receiving votes: Misericordia 14, Milwaukee School of Engineering 14, Tufts 8, Benedictine 4, Millikin 1, Saint Benedict 1.
Dropped out: Alvernia, Aurora, Bethel (Minn.), George Fox, Hope, Ithaca, Mount St. Joseph, St. Scholastica and Williams.
Programs that do not participate during the 2021 season will not be eligible for the poll.
