KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the only undefeated team in NAIA softball, Oklahoma City controls the No. 1 position in the first regular-season edition of the 2017 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Tuesday by the national office. The Stars have now been ranked first in nine-straight polls, dating back to the middle of the 2016 season. 

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• Oklahoma City gathered all 19 first-place votes and 529 points. The Stars are a perfect 30-0 on the year heading into a doubleheader against Mount Mercy (Iowa) on Tuesday. 
• Including today, the Stars have been ranked No. 1 in 17 of the previous 21 polls dating back to the 2015 first regular-season edition.
• Oklahoma City ranks No. 1 statistically in four categories: total runs (240), total RBIs (211), opponent batting average (.136) and ERA (0.570).
• William Carey (Miss.) moved up eight positions to earn the No. 2 ranking with 509 points.
• Columbia (Mo.) makes the biggest splash as a newcomer this week and enters in at the No. 3 slot.
• No. 4 Marian (Ind.) and No. 5 Georgia Gwinnett close out the top five teams. 
• This edition sees nine different newcomers, including: Columbia (Mo.), No. 8 Brenau (Ga.), No. 9 Thomas (Ga.), No. 16 St. Francis (Ill.), No. 17 Vanguard (Calif.), No. 18 Southern Oregon, No. 21 Mobile (Ala.), No. 23 Hope International (Calif.) and No. 25 Science & Arts.
• Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 123-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch, which goes back to the start of the 2004 season. William Carey is second with 86-consecutive mentions. Next in line for consecutive streaks is Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at 47.
• By falling out of the Top 25 today, St. Gregory’s had previously claimed the third-longest active streak with 49 rankings.

— Courtesy of Chad Waller, NAIA Director of Athletics Communications and Media

2017 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – March 21

Rank Last Week

School
(1st Place Votes)

2017 Record Points 1 1 Oklahoma City (19) 30-0 529 2 10 William Carey (Miss.) 27-2 509 3 NR Columbia (Mo.) 17-2 473 4 7 Marian (Ind.) 13-1 455 5 13 Georgia Gwinnett 24-5 437 6 12 Campbellsville (Ky.) 17-7 434 7 15 Davenport (Mich.) 20-2 419 8 NR Brenau (Ga.) 29-5 403 9 NR Thomas (Ga.) 25-6 399 10 9 Morningside (Iowa) 18-5 392 11 8 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 16-7 345 12 16 Reinhardt (Ga.) 25-9 309 13 22 LSU Alexandria 24-6 307 14 6 Simpson (Calif.) 17-5 297 15 3 Southeastern (Fla.) 22-9 296 16 NR St. Francis (Ill.) 16-2 256 17 NR Vanguard (Calif.) 27-7 255 18 NR Southern Oregon 21-4 246 19 5 Williams Baptist (Ark.) 12-6 235 20 17 Grand View (Iowa) 15-5 177 21 NR Mobile (Ala.) 19-8 168 22 19 Oregon Tech 15-5 165 23 NR Hope International (Calif.) 21-5 139 24 24 Rio Grande (Ohio) 15-6 132 25 NR Science & Arts (Okla.) 22-11 110

Dropped from rankings: No. 2 Saint Xavier (Ill.), No. 4 St. Gregory’s (Okla.), No. 11 Webber International (Fla.), No. 18 Houston-Victoria (Texas), No. 20 Central Methodist (Mo.), No. 21 Dickinson State (N.D.), No. 23 Park (Mo.), No. 25 San Diego Christian (Calif.).

Others Receiving Votes: Georgetown (Ky.) 108; Indiana Wesleyan 98; Friends (Kan.) 82; Corban (Ore.) 56; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 45; Bellevue (Neb.) 44; Aquinas (Mich.) 36; Coastal Georgia 23; Houston-Victoria (Texas) 21; USC Beaufort (S.C.) 15; Avila (Mo.) 8; Central Methodist (Mo.) 7; St. Gregory’s (Okla.) 5; Concordia (Neb.) 3.