NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll 

Emporia State received half of the first-place votes to jump into the No. 1 position in the NFCA Division II Top 25 Softball Poll, the association announced Wednesday. 

The Hornets jumped into the No. 1 position with an 18-1 mark that includes the Leadoff Classic title. 

Preseason No. 1 Humboldt State, who received one first-place nod, dropped to fifth with a 19-3 record in the poll. A pair of preseason unranked teams, Cal St. Dominguez Hills and Southeastern Oklahoma, moved into the top five in the first regular season poll. Cal St. Dominguez Hills used a 17-1 start to jump to No. 2 with a first-place nod, while the Savage Storm moved into the fourth position with a 19-3 start. 

Southern Illinois, Edwardsville moved up one place to No. 6 after starting the campaign with a 13-3 mark. USC Upstate also ventured up one position to No. 7. Barry joined the poll at No. 8 with a 13-2 record, while Lock Haven moved into the top 20 at No. 9, 11 places from its preseason rank. Concordia-St. Paul rounds out the top 10, down five places with a 10-4 mark. 

Lenoir-Rhyne and Cal St. Bakersfield joined the poll at Nos. 11 and 12, respectively, while Bloomsburg dropped two places to 13th. Another newcomer, Midwestern State, moved into the 14th position, and San Francisco State dropped six spots to No. 15. 

Caldwell, who has yet to begin the 2006 campaign, stayed at No. 16, while newcomers Florida Gulf Coast and Incarnate Word followed in a tie for 17th. 

Alabama-Huntsville, who dropped from fourth in the preseason, and Carson-Newman, down from 14th, rounded out the top 20. 

Preseason No. 3 Shippensburg fell to 21st, while Winona State dropped four places to 22nd. Le Moyne, the preseason No. 6 team, dropped to No. 23, while Regis and Northern Kentucky rounded out the poll at Nos. 24 and 25, respectively.