Posted: May 31, 2012
The Eagles (41-14) received 220 points, moving up one spot from the previous poll released at the end of the regular season.
Central Methodist won the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships, advancing to the 32nd Annual NAIA Softball Championship. The Eagles tied a school-record for wins after also winning 41 games in 2011.
After winning its first-ever National Championship, Shorter (Ga.)�was awarded�the No. 1 ranking.
Eleven conferences/independent/unaffiliated groupings are represented in the poll. The Southern States Athletic Conference placed six among ranked squads: Shorter, Brenau, No. 7 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), No. 8 William Carey (Miss.), No. 12 Lee (Tenn.) and Mobile. The SAC claims four Top 25 teams: Oklahoma City, No. 9 Lubbock Christian (Texas), No. 17 Southern Nazarene (Okla.) and No. 22 St. Gregory's (Okla.). Four other conferences and unaffiliated groups list multiple teams in the poll.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences /independent /unaffiliated groupings.
Notes: (all information dating back to 2000) The No. 1 ranking is a first for Shorter (Ga.) and the highest in program history - the highest previous ranking had been No. 6 back on April 18, 2007... No. 6 Concordia (Calif.) had been the former No. 1 team for the last six-straight polls... There were 38 different teams ranked in 10 polls this year...� Shorter (Ga.) is one of five programs to hold the No. 1 ranking this year, joining Concordia (Calif.), Lubbock Christian (Texas), Cal State San Marcos and Oregon Tech... Shorter joins Concordia, Cal State San Marcos, former NAIA member California Baptist, Lubbock Christian, Mobile (Ala.), Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma City, Oregon Tech, former NAIA member Simon Fraser (B.C.) and Thomas (Ga.) as the only schools to appear at No. 1 since 2000... California Baptist leads the way with 46 all-time No. 1 appearances, followed by Oklahoma City with 20, Simon Fraser with 18, Thomas with 13, Concordia with six , Mobile with five and Lubbock Christian with four... No. 2 Oklahoma City leads all active schools with 81-straight rankings, falling no lower than 18th during that stretch; Lubbock Christian and William Carey (Miss.) are tied for third with 44-consecutive mentions, No. 13 Houston-Victoria (Texas) follows with 39-straight and Concordia is at 35-straight polls.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2012 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 10 | Shorter (Ga.) (20) | 53-11 | 560 |
| 2 | 3 | Oklahoma City | 47-20 | 542 |
| 3 | 2 | Cal State San Marcos | 55-6 | 516 |
| 4 | 16 | Brenau (Ga.) | 44-16 | 500 |
| 5 | 4 | Central Baptist (Ark.) | 53-8 | 479 |
| 6 | 1 | Concordia (Calif.) | 56-4 | 457 |
| 7 | 18 | Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) | 42-20 | 450 |
| 8 | 6 | William Carey (Miss.) | 50-11 | 422 |
| 9 | 5 | Lubbock Christian (Texas) | 56-8 | 417 |
| 10 | 7 | Oregon Tech | 41-8 | 415 |
| 11 | 8 | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 42-11 | 354 |
| 12 | 13 | Lee (Tenn.) | 48-11 | 335 |
| 13 | 11 | Houston-Victoria (Texas) | 40-10 | 329 |
| 14 | 9 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 54-9 | 328 |
| 15 | RV | Indiana Southeast | 34-20 | 315 |
| 16 | 12 | Union (Tenn.) | 46-12 | 298 |
| 17 | 15 | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) | 42-18 | 282 |
| 18 | 22 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 36-12 | 254 |
| 19 | 20 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 41-14 | 220 |
| 20 | 21 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 43-12 | 217 |
| 21 | 23 | Webber International (Fla.) | 38-22 | 186 |
| 22 | 17 | St. Gregory's (Okla.) | 43-17 | 184 |
| 23 | 19 | Corban (Ore.) | 31-14 | 164 |
| 24 | RV | Mobile (Ala.) | 31-19 | 127 |
| 25 | 25 | Bethany (Kan.) | 45-9 | 124 |
Others receiving votes: Indiana Wesleyan 110; William Penn (Iowa) 107; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 73; Bellevue (Neb.) 51; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 23; South Carolina Beaufort 21; Georgetown (Ky.) 19; William Jessup (Calif.) 19; Thomas (Ga.) 11; Texas Wesleyan 10; Evangel (Mo.) 9; Concordia (Ore.) 8; Oklahoma Christian 7; Milligan (Tenn.) 4; Marian (Ind.) 3; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 1; Science & Arts (Okla.) 1; SCAD Savannah (Ga.) 1; Baker (Kan.) 1; College of Idaho 1.
