The University of Texas at Tyler has taken over the unanimous No. 1 spot in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll
, the association announced Wednesday. The Patriots are just the second team to hold the spot this season, as defending national champion runner-up Wisconsin-Whitewater held the spot for the first four polls. UT-Tyler sits at 17-1 after a doubleheader sweep of No. 2 Louisiana College at the end of last week and is part of a significant shake-up of the top 10. St. Thomas jumps one spot to No. 3, while Emory, at 23-5, jumps three spots to No. 4. Washington-St. Louis is the new No. 5, replacing defending national champion Wisconsin-Eau Claire, who has started 9-3. Willamette jumps one spot to No. 7, while former No. 1 Wisconsin-Whitewater drops all the way to No. 8 after a 5-1 start. No. 9 Tufts makes its first appearance in the top 10 since the preseason poll after a perfect 12-0 start, and Cortland State drops one to the No. 10 spot.
Another perfect team at 12-0, Linfield continues to climb and is in the No. 11 spot, while Ohio Northern follows. No. 12 Christopher Newport is 17-3, followed by 18-4 East Texas Baptist. No. 15 Central makes its first appearance in this year's poll after a 15-1 start, including a split with No. 6 UW-Eau Claire. DePauw continues to hold the No. 16 spot, followed by two 10-0 teams, Ramapo and Illinois Wesleyan, respectively.
Rochester remains at No. 19, while Wartburg drops two to No. 20. Two squads making first-time appearances follow, sharing the No. 21 spot. Howard Payne sits at 16-2, while Salisbury is 16-4. Rhode Island College is No. 23, followed by 15-1 Adrian and 6-1 Luther.
