By Alan Grosbach, Associate Director of Athletics Communications and Media
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Defending national champion Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) opens the season ranked No. 1 in the NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Warriors claimed all 17 first-place votes and 467 total points en route to the top spot.
Top 25 Highlights (information dates back to 2000)
• Lewis-Clark State enters the 2018 season coming off its third-straight and 19th all-time World Series title. The Warriors defeated No. 2 Faulkner (Ala.), 6-4, in the title game.
• Lewis-Clark State has held the No. 1 ranking in the preseason poll three-straight seasons.
• The Warriors own the longest active streak in the Top 25 at 164-straight mentions.
• No. 21 St. Thomas (Fla.) is the lone newcomer to the Top 25. The Bobcats, who finished last season with a 35-19 record, were picked to finish third in the 2018 The Sun Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
• Lewis-Clark State leads all active members with 60 total No. 1 mentions, dating back to 2000. Ten other teams have been ranked No. 1 in at least two polls: No. 3 Oklahoma City (34), No. 2 Faulkner (13), former member Lubbock Christian (Texas) (13), former member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (11), No. 12 Georgia Gwinnett (8), LSU Shreveport (La.) (6), former member Lee (Tenn.) (6), Cumberland (Tenn.) (6) and No. 13 Tennessee Wesleyan (2).
• The Sun Conference leads all leagues with four teams represented – No. 4 Southeastern (Fla.), No. 10 Keiser (Fla.), St. Thomas and No. 25 Webber International (Fla.)
Poll Methodology
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
• The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low ratings) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appears on.
• Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
• The frequency of the polls is bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) prior to the 2016-17 academic season. This change allows raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work between rating periods.
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
2017 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll (November 7, 2017)
| RANK | PRVS* | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2017 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) (17) | 40-14 | 467 |
| 2 | 2 | Faulkner (Ala.) | 54-12 | 452 |
| 3 | 3 | Oklahoma City | 50-10 | 434 |
| 4 | 12 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 50-11 | 392 |
| 5 | 9 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 50-9 | 385 |
| T6 | 4 | William Carey (Miss.) | 45-20 | 380 |
| T6 | 6 | Missouri Baptist | 45-16 | 380 |
| 8 | 10 | Hope International (Calif.) | 35-18 | 352 |
| 9 | 11 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 51-11 | 341 |
| 10 | 7 | Keiser (Fla.) | 43-21 | 337 |
| 11 | 8 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 45-17 | 319 |
| 12 | 14 | Georgia Gwinnett | 40-21 | 296 |
| 13 | 18 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 41-20 | 275 |
| 14 | 5 | The Master’s (Calif.) | 41-23 | 270 |
| 15 | 13 | Middle Georgia State | 46-16 | 250 |
| 16 | 17 | Tabor (Kan.) | 44-17 | 241 |
| 17 | 19 | Clarke (Iowa) | 46-14 | 239 |
| 18 | 16 | University of Northwestern Ohio | 44-12 | 230 |
| 19 | 15 | IU Southeast (Ind.) | 48-15 | 215 |
| 20 | 22 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 36-21 | 158 |
| 21 | RV | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 35-19 | 154 |
| 22 | T20 | Indiana Tech | 44-14 | 144 |
| 23 | 23 | Texas Wesleyan | 47-15 | 137 |
| 24 | 25 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 42-17 | 105 |
| 25 | 24 | Webber International (Fla.) | 39-17 | 72 |
Others receiving votes: LSU Shreveport (La.) 65; Huntington (Ind.) 53; Jamestown (N.D.) 51; Bryan (Tenn.) 43; Cumberlands (Ky.) 42; Vanguard (Calif.) 36; Friends (Kan.) 25; Antelope Valley (Calif.) 17; Concordia (Neb.) 17; Concordia (Mich.) 6; Westmont (Calif.) 4; Judson (Ill.) 3.
*Ranking from 2017 postseason poll
