2017 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 4
September 26, 2017
By Trevor Lininger, NAIA Athletic Communications and Media Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Crusaders of William Carey (Miss.) claim the program’s first ever No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday.
Top 25 Highlights
- William Carey (Miss.) now boasts a 7-0-0 record on the year, and has outscored its opponents 22-5
- The Crusaders collected 14 first place votes and 465 total points to earn the team its first ever No. 1 ranking
- Defending National Champion Hastings (Neb.) moved back up two spots to No. 9 this week after defeating Bellevue (Neb.) and Dordt (Neb.) and scoring 12 goals in the two games
- Columbia (Mo.), Cumberland (Tenn.), and The Master’s (Calif.) join the Top 25 for the first time this year, coming in at No. 23, 24 and 25
- Rio Grande (Ohio) is still responsible for the most No. 1 rankings all time with 57, and moved up one spot to No. 3 in this week’s polls
- Currently ranked No. 11, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) holds the record for the longest consecutively-ranked active school at 110 straight polls dating back to the first installment of the Top 25 Poll in 2007. Rio Grande is second with 102 consecutive rankings.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups
- 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 in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
- For the complete men’s soccer ratings calendar, click here.
2017 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 4 (Sept. 26)
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 2 | William Carey (Miss.) (14) | 7-0-0 | 465 |
| 2 | 3 | Missouri Valley (3) | 6-0-1 | 453 |
| 3 | 4 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 6-1-0 | 432 |
| 4 | 1 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 5-1-1 | 421 |
| 5 | 5 | Corban (Ore.) | 8-0-1 | 409 |
| 6 | 6 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 6-1-0 | 396 |
| 7 | 7 | Baker (Kan.) | 7-1-1 | 379 |
| 8 | 9 | Mobile (Ala.) | 4-1-1 | 357 |
| 9 | 11 | Hastings (Neb.) | 6-3-0 | 334 |
| 10 | 8 | Georgia Gwinnett | 6-1-1 | 325 |
| 11 | 10 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 4-1-0 | 316 |
| 12 | 13 | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 6-1-0 | 305 |
| 13 | 12 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 6-1-0 | 294 |
| 14 | 16 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 7-1-0 | 265 |
| 15 | 15 | Dalton State (Ga.) | 6-1-0 | 250 |
| 16 | 17 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 7-2-0 | 237 |
| 17 | 18 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 4-1-0 | 218 |
| 18 | 19 | Marymount (Calif.) | 3-2-2 | 198 |
| 19 | 22 | Spring Arbor (Mich.) | 7-2-0 | 186 |
| 20 | 14 | University of Northwestern Ohio | 3-3-1 | 179 |
| 21 | 21 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 6-1-0 | 155 |
| 21 | 20 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 6-2-1 | 155 |
| 23 | NR | Columbia (Mo.) | 7-2-0 | 152 |
| 24 | NR | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 7-1-0 | 102 |
| 25 | NR | The Master’s (Calif.) | 7-1-2 | 77 |
Dropped from Top 25:Martin Methodist (Tenn.), Westmont (Calif.), Bryan (Tenn.)
Receiving Votes:Â Union (Ky.) 59; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 54; John Brown (Ark.) 44; Johnson & Wales (Fla.) 33; LSU Alexandria 25; Aquinas (Mich.) 25; Bethel (Ind.) 24; Tennessee Wesleyan 23; Science & Arts (Okla.) 19; Hope International (Calif.) 18; UC Merced 14; Bethel (Tenn.) 11; Grand View (Iowa) 3