For the Second Time in As Many Weeks There is a New No. 1 in The Second Coaches’ Poll of the Season
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the third time this season, there is a new No. 1 in the NAIA Men’s Basketball landscape, and the Lancers of Grace (Ind.) are back at the top for the first time since the 2023-24 season. In the final poll on Feb. 28, the Lancers were voted No. 1 with 17 first-place votes. This time, all top three teams shared a piece of first-place votes with GC earning eight, Arizona Christian garnering nine, and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) earning one.
TREND RANK LAST TIME INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] RECORD POINTS
▲ 1 4 Grace (Ind.) [8] 8-0 498
● 2 2 Arizona Christian [9] 9-1 493
▲ 3 5 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) [1] 9-1 466
▲ 4 6 Montana Tech 8-0 446
▲ 5 7 Langston (Okla.) 6-1 439
▼ 6 1 Indiana Wesleyan 7-1 410
▲ 7 9 Life (Ga.) 7-1 401
● 8 8 Ave Maria (Fla.) 9-0 396
▲ 9 12 Cumberlands (Ky.) 9-0 369
▲ 10 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan 6-1 363
▲ 11 15 Bethel (Ind.) 8-0 320
▲ 12 16 College of Idaho 5-2 300
▲ 13 17 Georgetown (Ky.) 8-2 296
▲ 14 21 Indiana Tech 7-1 251
▲ 15 25 Keiser (Fla.) 6-1 240
▼ 16 3 Northwestern (Iowa) 7-2 232
▲ 17 RV Bethel (Kan.) 7-1 203
▲ 18 20 Nelson (Texas) 6-2 164
▲ 19 23 Hope International (Calif.) 7-1 161
▼ 20 10 Dalton State (Ga.) 6-3 155
▼ 21 18 Friends (Kan.) 5-2 142
▼ 22 19 Oregon Tech 5-3 139
▲ 23 24 Montana Western 7-1 122
▲ 24 NR Concordia (Neb.) 6-2 85
▲ 25 RV Georgia Gwinnett 8-2 74
Dropped from Top 25: Columbia (Mo.), Saint Mary (Kan.), LSU Alexandria (La.)
Receiving Votes: Wayland Baptist (Texas) 71; Mobile (Ala.) 51; Columbia (Mo.) 48; Missouri Baptist 40; Saint Mary (Kan.) 36; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 28; Huntington (Ind.) 27; LSU Alexandria (La.) 25; Pikeville (Ky.) 21; Graceland (Iowa) 13; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 11; Texas Wesleyan 9; Bellevue (Neb.) 8; Southeastern (Fla.) 8; Rochester Christian (Mich.) 6
Key:
RV – Receiving Votes | NR – Not Ranked | Climbed -▲ |Dropped -▼ | Steady – ●
Poll Methodology
The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration.
A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll.
The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system:
30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on.
The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.
Teams receiving only one point are not listed as “receiving votes.”
For the Preseason Poll, there is no “previous ranking” column since it is the initial poll and differs from the prior rating system.