2017 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll — No. 3
Faulkner claims No. 1 ranking for third-straight poll ranking
By Alan Grosbach, Manager of Communications and Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Faulkner (Ala.) owns the No. 1 ranking in the third regular-season installment of the 2017 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Eagles gathered 13 of the 18 available first-place votes and 494 total points en route to their third-consecutive top billing. The fourth regular-season edition will release on April 18.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000)
• Faulkner (Ala.) owns the No. 1 ranking for the 13th time in program history and third-straight time this season. Prior to their current reign at No. 1, the Eagles had not held the top-spot since March 22, 2016. Faulkner has landed in the top-spot in each of the past five seasons.
• The Eagles have won 13 of their last 14 games with the only loss coming to Loyola (La.), 5-3, in game one of a three game series over the weekend. That defeat is the first for Faulkner in Southern States Athletic Conference play, as the club boasts an 11-1 record – 1.5 games ahead of the second place teams.
• The Eagles return to the field Tuesday with a non-conference double-header against Point (Ga.).
• Oklahoma City locks down the No. 2 ranking for a second-consecutive week. The Stars, who claimed five first-place votes, is second nationally with 35 wins this season. Oklahoma City enters the week riding a 16-game winning streak. Next up for the Stars is a three-game set against Texas Wesleyan on Friday and Saturday.
• No. 3 Southeastern (Fla.), No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan and No. 5 Bellevue (Neb.) make up the remainder of the top five this installment. The Fire and Eagles swap places from last edition, while Bellevue jumped three spots from its No. 8 perch on March 21.
• No. 11 Clarke (Iowa) and No. 19 Indiana Tech each jumped a poll-best five places this week.
• Conversely, defending national champion Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) dropped six spots from No. 12 to No. 18. The Warriors have lost three out of their last five games – all coming against British Columbia.
• Three newcomers joined the poll in No. 22 Missouri Baptist, No. 23 Sterling (Kan.) and No. 25 Cumberlands (Ky.). The Patriots are ranked for the first time since holding the No. 20 position on Feb. 24, 2009.
• Lewis-Clark State leads all active members with 58 total No. 1 mentions, dating back to 2000. Ten other teams have been ranked No. 1 in at least two polls: Oklahoma City (32), Faulkner (13), 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).
• Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, The Southern States Athletic Conference, Sooner Athletic Conference and The Sun Conference lead all leagues with three teams each.
• Fourteen-of-18 conferences have at least one school represented in the poll.