The Road to Pensacola Begins with The Bees at the Top of the Preseason Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The road to Pensacola, Fla., for the 2025 NAIA women’s soccer national championship begins today with the release of the preseason Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. SCAD Savannah (Ga.) tops the list with 16 first-place votes. The Bees captured their first Red Banner in program history last December and look to defend that title this season. The Yotes of College of Idaho open the year ranked at third, the program’s highest ranking ever, dating back to the 1999 season.
The 2025 women’s soccer season officially starts tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 21, when teams will begin their road to Pensacola in hopes of raising the trophy and taking a Red Banner back to campus.
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1. SCAD Savannah (Ga.), 477 points
2024 Record: 20-1-2 Week 1: Opens the 2025 title defense on the road as they head north to Spartanburg Methodist. Stat to know: Received 16 first-place votes. Enters the season with a nine-game win streak after capturing the program’s first title last December. |
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2. Keiser (Fla.), 463 points
2024 Record: 18-2-1 Week 1: Welcomes Texas A&M Texarkana to the beach for the first of two home matches to open the season. Stat to know: Ranked fourth nationally in corner kicks last season with 167, averaging 22.5 shots per game just a year ago, good for sixth in the nation. |
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3. College of Idaho, 432 points
2024 Record: 20-1-2 Week 1: Hosts three teams from the Midwest to open the year with Dordt (Iowa) on Saturday, followed by Science & Arts (Okla.) and John Brown (Ark.) on September 4 and 6. Stat to know: Reached the semifinals last year in Pensacola as they made the national tournament field for just the fifth time in program history. |
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4. Columbia (Mo.), 431 points
2024 Record: 20-2-1 Week 1: Travels to the Bulldogs of Concordia (Neb.) for a game under the lights on Saturday. A stat to know: The Cougars have a new leader at the helm of the 12-time national qualifying program in Lauren Robb after she served in the same position for the previous seven years at William Woods (Mo.), collecting a record of 70-48-13. |
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5. William Carey (Miss.), 420 points
2024 Record: 20-2-1 Week 1: Opens the season with a five-match home stand against LSU Alexandria (La.), followed by four teams over the next four weeks who made the tournament field last season. Stat to know: The Crusaders were heavy hitters offensively last season, ranking first or second nationally in shots (622), goals scored (155), shots per game (27.0), shots on goal (339), assists (124), and corner kicks (171). |
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6. Tennessee Southern, 390 points
2024 Record: 19-3-1 Week 1: UT Southern loads up for a pair of road games to begin a new campaign with a trip to LSU Alexandria (La.) and Oakland City (Ind.). Stat to know: Top three nationally last season in six different categories: shots, goals scored, shot percentage, shots per game, shots on goal, and assists. |
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7. John Brown (Ark.), 381 points
2024 Record: 16-6-1 Week 1: Kicks off the season with six road matches, taking on LSU Shreveport (La.) and Avila (Mo.) before a pair of neutral-site games. The Golden Eagles first home game will be on September 20th. Stat to know: After making the tournament field for the 11th time in program history and defeating Central Methodist (Mo.) in the second round, JBU defeated the Patriots in the first game from Pensacola last season 2-1. |
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8. Cumberlands (Ky.), 370 points
2024 Record: 18-1-0 Week 1: Cumberlands (Ky.) opens the year with a three-game road trip, opening the new season at Missouri Valley, followed by Milligan (Tenn.) and Spring Arbor (Mich.). Stat to know: Posted an 18-game winning streak last season, with the only loss in the Round of 16 at the final site. |
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9. Aquinas (Mich.), 347 points
2024 Record: 17-1-2 Week 1: Aquinas will play a pair of neutral-site games against Campbellsville (Ky.) and Cumberlands (Ky.) on August 30 and September 1. Stat to know: Made the national tournament last year for the seventh time in program history and has not had a loss on the books till the Round of 16 against UT Southern. |
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10. Spring Arbor (Mich.), 315 points
2024 Record: 17-4-0 Week 1: The Cougars play host to Saint Xavier (Ill.) before heading south to play Cumberlands (Ky.) and Campbellsville (Ky.). Stat to know: Second-year head coach Shannon Andringa looks to lead SAU to another double-digit win season and back to Pensacola. The Cougars went 10-2 at home and 7-1 on the road last season. |
| RANK | INSTITUTION | 2024 RECORD | POINTS |
| 11 | Marian (Ind.) | 17-4-2 | 313 |
| 12 | Missouri Valley | 15-5-1 | 296 |
| 13 | Indiana Wesleyan | 14-5-2 | 273 |
| 14 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 18-2-1 | 265 |
| 15 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 15-5-2 | 252 |
| 16 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 16-1-4 | 242 |
| 17 | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 15-3-3 | 211 |
| 18 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 16-4-1 | 205 |
| 19 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 12-6-2 | 191 |
| 20 | Life (Ga.) | 14-5-1 | 162 |
| 21 | Truett McConnell (Ga.) | 16-2-3 | 150 |
| 22 | Georgia Gwinnett | 12-7-2 | 136 |
| 23 | Science and Arts (Okla.) | 18-3-1 | 127 |
| 24 | Northwestern Ohio | 14-4-4 | 106 |
| 25 | The Master’s (Calif.) | 15-5-1 | 62 |
Receiving Votes: St. Ambrose (Iowa) 57, Xavier (La.) 51, Hope International (Calif.) 43, Westcliff (Calif.) 37, Tennessee Wesleyan 26, Hastings (Neb.) 9, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 8, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 8
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.