Kansas City, Mo. - After an historic 2021 campaign, the Central Methodist Football program landed at No. 14 in the NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Postseason poll. This was announced by the national office Wednesday.
It marks the highest-ever ranking for the Eagles' football program in its history.
Central joins four other Heart schools that were either featured or mentioned in the Top 25 including, No. 2 Grand View, No. 13 Baker, and (RV) Culver-Stockton.
The Eagles claimed their first conference championship since 1975 with a 9-3 overall record and a perfect 5-0 mark in Heart South Division play. The nine wins tied for the most victories in school history, with the last nine-win season coming ninety one years ago in 1930 (9-0). As the Heart South Division Champion, the Eagles also clinched their first-ever berth into the NAIA-FCS playoffs.
Central garnered 13 Heart All-Conference selections including the Heart Freshman of the Year, Paxton DeLaurent, and Coach of the Year David Calloway. The Eagles also made noise on the national stage as senior wide receiver Katavious Taylor and senior defensive lineman Will Miles were named NAIA Honorable Mention All-Americans.
Taylor concluded his career as a four-time NAIA All-American, the first CMU football player ever to do so.
Overall, Central was a perfect 6-0 at Davis Field, including notable upset victories over, at the time, (RV) Benedictine College and No. 5 Baker.
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.
- Each conference is given one rater for every four schools in the league.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 25 points for each first-place vote, 24 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 Top 25 calendar, click here.
| RANK | LAST | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 2 | Morningside (Iowa) [18] | 14-0 | 418 |
| 2 | 3 | Grand View (Iowa) | 14-1 | 402 |
| 3 | 1 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 12-1 | 382 |
| 4 | 4 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 12-2 | 374 |
| 5 | 7 | Marian (Ind.) | 9-3 | 347 |
| 6 | 8 | Concordia (Mich.) | 9-2 | 340 |
| 7 | 11 | Keiser (Fla.) | 9-3 | 306 |
| 8 | 9 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 9-2 | 293 |
| 9 | 6 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 9-3 | 289 |
| 10 | 10 | Kansas Wesleyan | 10-2 | 282 |
| 11 | 14 | Ottawa (Ariz.) | 8-2 | 229 |
| 12 | 12 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 7-4 | 226 |
| 13 | 13 | Baker (Kan.) | 9-2 | 213 |
| 14 | 16 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 9-3 | 206 |
| 15 | 17 | Dickinson State (N.D.) | 8-3 | 191 |
| 16 | 15 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 8-2 | 184 |
| 17 | 5 | Indiana Wesleyan | 7-3 | 168 |
| 18 | 19 | Montana Western | 8-4 | 167 |
| 19 | 17 | Bethel (Kan.) | 9-2 | 147 |
| 20 | 20 | Arizona Christian | 8-2 | 107 |
| 21 | 21 | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 7-3 | 100 |
| 22 | 22 | Culver-Stockton (Mo.) | 8-3 | 84 |
| 23 | 23 | Dordt (Iowa) | 7-3 | 53 |
| 24 | 24 | Faulkner (Ala.) | 8-2 | 51 |
| 25 | 25 | College of Idaho | 7-3 | 33 |
Receiving Votes: Valley City State (N.D.) 22; St. Francis (Ill.) 9; Texas Wesleyan 4; SAGU (Texas) 3; Southeastern (Fla.) 3
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