Kansas City, Mo. - After jumping out to a 22-3 start through their first 25 games of 2022, the Central Methodist baseball program has moved up one spot to No. 7 in the second edition of the NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 poll, announced by the national office Wednesday.
The only other Heart program featured in the poll is (RV) Clarke. CMU has rolled through its first 25 games of the season and has opened conference play with a perfect 8-0 record, including two series sweeps over Graceland and Evangel.
Junior shortstop Robbie Merced has been a force at the dish, leading the nation in both home runs (18) and RBI (58). He is also ranked No. 3 in batting average (.519). In addition, sophomore outfielder Bobby Nichols is ranked No. 4 in the country in stolen bases (26).
The Eagles will next face Baker University for a four game series March 26-27 in Baldwin City, Kan.
To view the poll methodology and the complete Top 25 poll, please see below.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
- 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 on the ballot are not considered "receiving votes"
- The frequency of the polls is bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) prior to the 2016-17 academic season. This change allows raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work between rating periods.
- For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
| RANK | LAST | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | CONFERENCE | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Southeastern (Fla.) [19] | Sun | 29-1 | 529 |
| 2 | 2 | Tennessee Wesleyan | Appalachian | 29-2 | 511 |
| 3 | 3 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | Cascade | 29-1 | 493 |
| 4 | 4 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | Red River | 26-2 | 476 |
| 5 | 6 | Oklahoma City | Sooner | 23-2 | 464 |
| 6 | 7 | Westmont (Calif.) | GSAC | 28-4 | 435 |
| 7 | 8 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | Heart | 20-3 | 421 |
| 8 | 5 | Georgia Gwinnett | Continential | 20-6 | 415 |
| 9 | 9 | Vanguard (Calif.) | GSAC | 29-5 | 391 |
| 10 | 11 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | Sun | 24-5 | 382 |
| 11 | 10 | Bellevue (Neb.) | North Star | 17-7 | 352 |
| 12 | 14 | Ottawa (Kan.) | KCAC | 21-3 | 320 |
| 13 | 15 | Webber International (Fla.) | Sun | 29-5 | 314 |
| 14 | 12 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | Sooner | 16-7 | 305 |
| 15 | 16 | Hope International (Calif.) | GSAC | 25-7 | 295 |
| 16 | 12 | Middle Georgia State | Southern States | 18-7-1 | 290 |
| 17 | 18 | Indiana Southeast (Ind.) | River-States | 15-8 | 235 |
| 18 | 25 | Warner (Fla.) | Sun | 28-6 | 233 |
| 19 | 24 | McPherson (Kan.) | KCAC | 21-5 | 205 |
| 20 | 22 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | Mid-South | 20-8 | 200 |
| 21 | NR | Faulkner (Ala.) | Southern States | 14-9 | 185 |
| 22 | 21 | Bluefield (Va.) | Appalachian | 19-3 | 177 |
| 23 | NR | Tabor (Kan.) | KCAC | 22-5-1 | 143 |
| 24 | 20 | Keiser (Fla.) | Sun | 20-11 | 120 |
| 25 | 17 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | Mid-South | 18-10 | 82 |
Others Receiving Votes: Georgetown (Ky.) 70; Concordia (Neb.) 61; Clarke (Iowa) 56; Taylor (Ind.) 53; Loyola (La.) 33; The Master's (Calif.) 32; Doane (Neb.) 27; University of Northwestern Ohio 22; Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 18; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 18; William Carey (Miss.) 14; Lyon (Ark.) 13; Antelope Valley (Calif.) 11; Point Park (Pa.) 7; St. Andrews (N.C.) 5; Cumberland (Tenn.) 3
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