Kansas City, Mo. - The No. 1 Central Methodist Men's Soccer program jumped to No. 1 in the first regular season edition of the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 poll, announced by the national office Wednesday.
Other Heart programs featured in the Top 25 include; No. 5 Missouri Valley, No. 7 MidAmerica Nazarene, (RV) Grand View and (RV) Baker.
Central returns to the No. 1 spot after entering the regular season at No. 3 in the preseason rankings. The Eagles currently boast a 3-0-1 overall record, including wins over NCAA opponents Western Illinois and Truman State.
CMU also drew against No. 11 Tulsa of NCAA Division I, and earned a 2-1 victory over Bethel in the home opener on Sept. 1.
The Eagles are set to host (RV) Southwestern Christian Thursday, Sept. 8 at 2:00 p.m. at Davis Field.
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, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups.
- 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 in the ballot are not considered "receiving votes."
- For the complete men's soccer ratings calendar, click here.
| RANK | LAST | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | CONFERENCE | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 3 | Central Methodist (Mo.) [7] | Heart | 3-0-1 | 484 |
| 2 | 2 | Mobile (Ala.) [5] | Southern States | 3-0-1 | 482 |
| 3 | 1 | Keiser (Fla.) [6] | The Sun | 1-0-1 | 474 |
| 4 | 4 | Columbia (Mo.) | American Midwest | 1-0-2 | 444 |
| 5 | 6 | Missouri Valley | Heart | 1-0-1 | 440 |
| 6 | 8 | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | Sooner | 3-1 | 400 |
| 7 | 9 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | Heart | 2-1 | 384 |
| 8 | 11 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | The Sun | 1-0 | 374 |
| 9 | 5 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | Kansas Collegiate | 1-1-1 | 373 |
| 10 | 15 | Dalton State (Ga.) | Southern States | 3-0-1 | 355 |
| 11 | 10 | Ottawa (Ariz.) | Golden State | 3-1 | 314 |
| 12 | 23 | Georgia Gwinnett | Continental | 3-0-1 | 302 |
| 13 | 13 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | River States | 3-1 | 299 |
| 14 | 7 | Indiana Tech | Wolverine Hoosier | 0-0-3 | 287 |
| 15 | 16 | William Carey (Miss.) | Southern States | 1-0 | 264 |
| 16 | NR | University of Northwestern Ohio | Wolverine Hoosier | 3-0-1 | 258 |
| 17 | 21 | Bethel (Ind.) | Crossroads | 3-1-1 | 255 |
| 18 | NR | Grace (Ind.) | Crossroads | 3-0-2 | 244 |
| 19 | 19 | Florida National | Continental | 3-0 | 173 |
| 20 | NR | Cumberlands (Ky.) | Mid-South | 2-2-1 | 152 |
| 21 | NR | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | Chicagoland | 3-1 | 124 |
| 22 | NR | Tennessee Wesleyan | Appalachian | 1-0-2 | 112 |
| 23 | NR | Missouri Baptist | American Midwest | 2-0 | 105 |
| 24 | NR | Life (Ga.) | Southern States | 4-0 | 86 |
| 25 | NR | Corban (Ore.) | Cascade | 4-0 | 76 |
Dropped From Poll: Grand View (Iowa); Milligan (Tenn.); Vanguard (Calif.); Columbia International (S.C.)
Receiving Votes: Grand View (Iowa) 74; Hastings (Neb.) 68; Hope International (Calif.) 64; UC Merced 64; Baker (Kan.) 61; Milligan (Tenn.) 53; LSU Shreveport (La.) 45; Bethel (Tenn.) 32; Indiana Wesleyan 28; Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 19; WVU Tech 16; Williams Baptist (Ark.) 10; Southwestern Christian (Okla.) 9; Governors State (Ill.) 9; Southeastern (Fla.) 9; Southern Oregon 8; Viterbo (Wis.) 8; Vanguard (Calif.) 8; Midland (Neb.) 3
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