KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Faulkner (Ala.) ends the 2018 regular-season on top, as the Eagles claim a fifth-straight No. 1 ranking in the 2018 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. Faulkner claimed 17-of-18 first-place votes and 498 total points.
The final coaches’ poll is one of the tools used by the Baseball National Championship Selection Committee when selecting this year’s at-large teams. The 2018 Baseball National Championship Opening Round qualifiers and brackets will be announced Thursday, May 10, at 3 p.m. CDT on the NAIA Facebook page.
Top 25 Highlights (information dates back to 2000)
• The No. 1 ranking is the 18th in program history for the Eagles.
• Faulkner ended the regular-season with a 47-6 record, including a 20-4 mark in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC). The Eagles are the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and play Loyola (La.) Wednesday.
• No. 3 St. Thomas (Fla.) claimed the other first-place vote in the edition. The Bobcats have gone 36-2 since the beginning of March en route to a 49-5 overall record.
• No. 24 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) is the lone newcomer to the Top 25. The Lions (36-14) are the No. 2 seed in the upcoming American Midwest Conference tournament.
• No. 6 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 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: Oklahoma City (34), Faulkner (18), former member Lubbock Christian (Texas) (13), former member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (11), Georgia Gwinnett (8), LSU Shreveport (La.) (6), former member Lee (Tenn.) (6), Cumberland (Tenn.) (6) and Tennessee Wesleyan (2).
• The SSAC, Sooner Athletic Conference
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 rating) 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 appear on.
• Teams that receive only one point on 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.
2018 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Final (May 1, 2018)
| RANK | PRVS* | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Faulkner (Ala.) (17) | 47-6 | 498 |
| 2 | 2 | Georgia Gwinnett | 40-8 | 481 |
| 3 | 4 | St. Thomas (Fla.) (1) | 49-5 | 467 |
| 4 | 3 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 50-5 | 447 |
| 5 | 5 | Oklahoma City | 42-5 | 437 |
| 6 | 7 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 37-10 | 404 |
| 7 | 5 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 47-6 | 402 |
| 8 | 8 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 41-6 | 397 |
| 9 | 10 | Bryan (Tenn.) | 38-13 | 364 |
| 10 | 9 | William Jessup (Calif.) | 35-15 | 342 |
| 11 | 13 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 44-7 | 330 |
| 12 | 14 | Middle Georgia State | 40-15 | 328 |
| 13 | 12 | Lyon (Ark.) | 34-13 | 304 |
| 14 | 11 | Mobile (Ala.) | 40-13 | 295 |
| 15 | 16 | Keiser (Fla.) | 37-15 | 248 |
| 16 | 15 | Point Park (Pa.) | 41-7 | 243 |
| 17 | 18 | Antelope Valley (Calif.) | 38-11-1 | 238 |
| 18 | 16 | Jamestown (N.D.) | 39-7 | 219 |
| 19 | 23 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 34-18 | 215 |
| 20 | 25 | Westmont (Calif.) | 33-14 | 172 |
| 21 | 21 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 32-15 | 169 |
| 22 | 22 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 37-12 | 166 |
| 23 | 20 | Texas Wesleyan | 33-14 | 120 |
| 24 | RV | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 36-14 | 108 |
| 25 | 24 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 36-18 | 103 |
Dropped from the Top 25 Poll: William Carey (Miss.) (No. 19)
Others receiving votes: Indiana Tech 93; William Carey (Miss.) 80; IU Southeast (Ind.) 74; Reinhardt (Ga.) 42; Mayville State (N.D.) 29; University of Northwestern Ohio 28; Webber International (Fla.) 26; Cumberland (Tenn.) 23; Tabor (Kan.) 19; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 4; Bellevue (Neb.) 4; Texas A&M Texarkana 3; Indiana Wesleyan 3.
*Ranking from 2018 Poll No. 4 (April 17, 2018)
