LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the fourth straight week and 14th time in the last 15 weeks, defending NCAA Division III national champion Texas-Tyler is the unanimous No. 1 team in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 softball rankings.
The (13-0) Patriots wasted no time getting off to a strong start, despite losing 2016 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player of the Year Kelsie Batten and the left side of their infield, going 5-0 last week.
East Texas Baptist (11-0) moved into the top three this week, gaining one spot, while No. 4 Berry (13-0), No. 5 Luther (4-0), No. 6 Manhattanville (0-0) and No. 7 Linfield (8-0) all picked up a spot and were consensus picks by voters.
Emory (9-3), meanwhile, moved back up three places to eighth, after dropping from fourth last week, Messiah (3-1) dropped from third to ninth, and Rowan (0-0) gained two places to round out the top 10.
Virginia Wesleyan (8-0) surged eight more places to No. 11, after picking up six places last week, while No. 22 St. Thomas (3-1) fell eight spots.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current 2017 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – March 1, 2017
| Rank | Team | 2017 Record | Points | Previous |
| 1 | Texas-Tyler (8) | 13-0 | 200 | 1 |
| 2 | St. John Fisher | 0-0 | 192 | 2 |
| 3 | East Texas Baptist | 11-0 | 184 | 4 |
| 4 | Berry | 13-0 | 176 | 5 |
| 5 | Luther | 4-0 | 168 | 6 |
| 6 | Manhattanville | 0-0 | 160 | 7 |
| 7 | Linfield | 8-0 | 152 | 8 |
| 8 | Emory | 9-3 | 138 | 11 |
| 9 | Messiah | 3-1 | 134 | 3 |
| 10 | Rowan | 0-0 | 109 | 12 |
| 11 | Virginia Wesleyan | 8-0 | 107 | 19 |
| 12 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 0-0 | 101 | 13 |
| 13 | Christopher Newport | 7-1 | 94 | 15 |
| 14 | Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 0-0 | 84 | 17 |
| 15 | St. Catherine | 3-1 | 80 | 9 |
| 16 | Coe | 2-0 | 78 | NR |
| 17 | Moravian | 0-0 | 67 | 16 |
| 18 | Trine | 0-0 | 59 | 20 |
| 19 | Williams | 0-0 | 54 | 21 |
| 20 | Cortland | 0-0 | 50 | 22 |
| 21 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 0-0 | 30 | 25 |
| 22 | St. Thomas (Minn.) | 3-1 | 27 | 14 |
| 23 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 0-0 | 24 | 23 |
| 24 | Central (Iowa) | 0-0 | 20 | RV |
| 25 | Ithaca | 0-0 | 19 | RV |
Others receiving votes: Texas Lutheran 17, Texas-Dallas 17, Alma 11, Aurora 10, Louisiana College 8, Otterbein 8, Tufts 7, Wittenberg 7, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3, Rochester 3, Gustavus Adolphus 1 and Wartburg 1.
Dropped out: Birmingham-Southern and Salisbury.
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