The Yotes Begin 2025-26 Campaign at No. 1 while Top Four Teams Receive First-Place Votes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The courts are mopped, hoops all have new nets, and the 2025-26 NAIA Men’s Basketball season is underway with the release of the Preseason Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The defending national champions of the College of Idaho open the year in the top spot, receiving 11 first-place votes. Arizona Christian, Georgetown (Ky.), and Langston (Okla.) all received first-place votes to start the year, ranking second through fourth.
Oklahoma Wesleyan, the 2024-25 national tournament runner-ups, will open a new campaign at No. 10, while the first-year program, Georgia Gwinnett, received some votes to tip off the inaugural season.
Countable games begin on Oct. 23rd, and with some early invitationals around the nation, teams will be tested right away. One notable top-3 match-up that will take place early is the Firestorm against the Tigers in the Remy Williams Memorial Invite at Park (Mo.) on November 2nd at 1 p.m. CT. The OKWU Eagles will take on the Grizzlies of GGC on Friday, Oct. 31, in The Tulsa Challenge.
Rank Institution [First-Place Votes] 2024-25 Record Points
1 College of Idaho [11] 35-2 525
2 Arizona Christian [5] 30-5 513
3 Georgetown (Ky.) [2] 29-5 473
4 Langston (Okla.) [1] 26-8 447
5 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 30-6 438
6 Indiana Wesleyan 22-10 397
7 Grace (Ind.) 29-6 365
8 Northwestern (Iowa) 27-6 364
9 The Master’s (Calif.) 26-6 363
10 Oklahoma Wesleyan 28-8 345
11 Montana Tech 24-7 336
12 Pikeville (Ky.) 25-7 321
13 LSU Alexandria (La.) 31-3 320
14 Southern Oregon 23-11 318
15 Ave Maria (Fla.) 25-7 269
16 Bethel (Ind.) 24-9 191
17 Nelson (Texas) 24-9 178
18 Dalton State (Ga.) 24-7 177
19 Morningside (Iowa) 25-8 176
20 Cumberlands (Ky.) 24-9 155
21 Indiana Tech 23-8 128
22 Life (Ga.) 27-7 127
23 Graceland (Iowa) 24-8 115
24 Friends (Kan.) 24-8 106
25 Keiser (Fla.) 26-6 94
Receiving Votes: Dordt (Iowa) 90; Georgia Gwinnett 76; LSU Shreveport (La.) 53; Saint Mary (Kan.) 48; Hope International (Calif.) 33; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 29; Central Baptist (Ark.) 24; Johnson (Tenn.) 16; Oregon Tech 11; Rio Grande (Ohio) 8; Peru State (Neb.) 6; Spring Arbor (Mich.) 5; Madonna (Mich.) 4; Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 2
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.
Championship Information
men’s basketball
88TH ANNUAL
MEN’S BASKETBALL
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March 19-24, 2026
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