top 25 poll – Lake Weekly

Second NAIA poll features men’s basketball as No. 20

The second NAIA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll of the season has seen significant movement. Notably, OLLU, which received 20 votes in the first poll on Nov. 13, has made a remarkable leap to be ranked No. 20.

This marks a poignant milestone for the Saints, as it’s the first time since 2018 that they have been ranked in the poll. In that memorable season, the men’s team achieved rankings of 23rd, 18th, 16th, 19th and 21st.

The only other Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) team included in this second poll of the 2024-2025 season is LSU-Alexandria, which is ranked third – an improvement from sixth. LSU-Shreveport dropped out of the top 25.

OLLU continues to impress this season, marking victories in nine consecutive games, which is the best in team history. The Saints are outscoring their opponents 802-727 with victories over Wayland Baptist University, Southern University at New Orleans, Ave Maria University, Southeastern University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Louisiana Christian University, Texas A&M University – Texarkana, Jarvis Christian University and Texas College.

The Saints and the University of the Southwest are the only two teams undefeated in the Red River Athletic Conference. The Mustangs are 6-0 overall and 3-0 in conference.

Poll Methodology:

The NAIA Men’s Basketball Poll is for publicity purposes only and has no weight or bearing in the selection process for national championship field consideration.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and Continental Athletic Conference (Independents).
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 vote for each team (a non-vote is considered a low vote) is removed.
Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes.”
Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly.
Records listed are as of the end of the day on Monday of the poll week.

Softball debuts in NAIA Top 25 Poll

For the first time in history, the softball team has been ranked in the NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The Saints debuted at No. 25 in the poll released on April 20. The Saints own the NAIA’s longest winning streak at 21.

The Saints have received votes since the first season of competition in 2010. Their most votes were 21 during that first year. In 2012, the Saints received 20 votes, and in 2013, the most votes they received was 44. In the following year, the Saints received 57 votes in 2014, and in 2015, the most votes the Saints received was 88. In 2016, the team received 10 votes. The last time the Saints received votes was in 2018 with 80 votes.

The only other Red River Athletic Conference team in the poll is Texas A&M University-Texarkana, which is ranked 13. The conference poll is as follows:

1. Texas A&M University-Texarkana (20-4/37-8)

2. Our Lady of the Lake University (20-4/37-8)

3. University of Houston-Victoria (16-6/23-10)

4. Texas A&M University-San Antonio (13-7/20-21)

5. Louisiana Christian University (13-7/24-16)

6. LSU Alexandria (10-10/13-22)

7. Xavier University of Louisiana (12-12/18-25)

8. Huston-Tillotson University (9-13/15-19)

9. Jarvis Christian College (8-12/20-19)

10. University of the Southwest (3-21/6-29)

11. Texas College (0-24/1-27)

Poll Methodology

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents).
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.

2022 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll Four (April 20, 2022)

RANK	LAST WEEK	SCHOOL [1st Place Votes]	RECORD	FINAL POINTS
1	3	Mobile (Ala.) [11]	37-1	518
2	1	Oklahoma City [7]	31-4	511
3	2	Oregon Tech [1]	38-7	495
4	4	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)	39-3	489
5	5	Science & Arts (Okla.)	37-6	461
6	7	William Carey (Miss.)	37-6	441
7	6	College of Idaho	35-8	425
8	8	Indiana Wesleyan	35-6	409
9	11	Central Methodist (Mo.)	27-4	388
10	9	Southern Oregon	38-10	383
11	12	Grand View (Iowa)	30-5	347
12	10	Coastal Georgia	34-7	335
13	13	Texas A&M Texarkana	32-8	330
14	16	Aquinas (Mich.)	25-5	286
15	14	Georgia Gwinnett	29-15	276
15	17	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	31-11	276
17	18	Marian (Ind.)	26-7	249
18	20	Southeastern (Fla.)	36-7	242
19	21	Columbia (Mo.)	22-10	191
20	19	Madonna (Mich.)	20-4	178
21	24	Tennessee Wesleyan	30-5	162
22	RV	Campbellsville (Ky.)	28-13	138
23	24	Saint Xavier (Ill.)	22-6	134
24	23	Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)	29-3	130
25	RV	Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)	37-8	122

Dropped from the Top 25: Ottawa (Kan.), Cumberlands (Ky.)

Others Receiving Votes: Ottawa (Kan.) 120, Cumberlands (Ky.) 105, William Jessup (Calif.) 77, Midland (Neb.) 45, Vanguard (Calif.) 31, Eastern Oregon 25, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 24, Bellevue (Neb.) 10, Oklahoma Wesleyan 7, Cottey (Mo.) 7, Middle Georgia State 6, Rio Grande (Ohio) 5, Webber International (Fla.) 4, Mount Marty (S.D.) 4.

Softball receives 30 votes in the Coaches’ Top 25 Poll

The softball team has received 30 votes in the NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The Saints had received six votes in the previous poll released on March 23.

Since the season began this spring, the Saints have defeated three schools listed in the Top 25 poll. They beat Midland University (RV) 8-0 and 8-1, Campbellsville University (10) 5-4, Central Baptist College (24) 12-4 and Central Methodist University (13) 7-1. Central Methodist is now No. 11, Midland has received five votes and Campbellsville has received three votes. Central Baptist has dropped out of the Top 25 poll.

The only other Red River Athletic Conference team in the poll is Texas A&M University-Texarkana, which is ranked 13.

See full rankings list online.

OLLU receives 42 votes in the 2022 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll

The baseball team received 42 votes in the 2022 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll released today. The team had received eight votes for the first time ever on March 11, 2020. Subsequently, the Saints were ranked in the top 25 as No. 21 on March 31, 2021; No. 24 on April 14, 2021; No. 22 on April 28, 2021; and No. 23 on May 12, 2021.

The Saints finished out their 2021 season as Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) regular-season champs. They qualified for the NAIA National Championship Tournament, where they lost in the opening round. They marked their best-ever record at 34-19 overall and 20-4 in the RRAC.

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.

RANK	LAST	SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES]	RECORD	FINAL POINTS
1	1	Georgia Gwinnett [19]	51-10	529
2	2	Central Methodist (Mo.)	49-8	507
3	5	Southeastern (Fla.)	51-9	480
4	3	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	44-8	474
5	7	Tennessee Wesleyan	53-6	459
6	4	Faulkner (Ala.)	32-20	457
7	6	Indiana Southeast (Ind.)	50-15	428
8	9	Keiser (Fla.)	37-18	400
9	8	Oklahoma Wesleyan	49-11	388
10	10	LSU Shreveport (La.)	45-16	382
11	11	Cumberlands (Ky.)	46-8	362
12	14	Loyola (La.)	36-15	330
13	13	Vanguard (Calif.)	40-16	328
14	15	Science & Arts (Okla.)	34-12	295
15	17	Indiana Wesleyan	44-14	263
16	16	Hope International (Calif.)	29-15	257
17	19	St. Thomas (Fla.)	34-21	253
18	12	Concordia (Neb.)	42-12	252
19	18	Middle Georgia State	37-20	230
20	20	Oklahoma City	36-19	190
21	NR	Reinhardt (Ga.)	34-21	167
22	24	MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)	41-16	148
23	25	Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.)	32-16	134
24	NR	Bellevue (Neb.)	41-18	129
25	23	Point Park (Pa.)	40-16	128

Others Receiving Votes: William Carey (Miss.) 120; Bryan (Tenn.) 106; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 42; Westmont (Calif.) 39; Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 32; Webber International (Fla.) 28; Columbia (Mo.) 24; Ottawa (Kan.) 20; Indiana Tech 13; CIU (S.C.) 8; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 5; Texas Wesleyan 4; Warner (Fla.) 4; Doane (Neb.) 3; Southwestern Christian (Okla.) 3Arrows