Kansas City, Mo. - The Central Methodist softball program cracks the Top 10 in the latest edition of the NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 poll, as announced by the national office this week.
CMU jumps two spots to No. 9, while Grand View, the only other Heart program represented in the Top 25, is No. 11.
The Eagles are currently 27-4 and 19-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Central is riding an 18-game winning streak, with their last loss coming March 13 against Baker. With their stellar run through late March and early April, the Eagles find themselves in first place in the conference standings with a .950 winning percentage.
CMU is set to host weekend doubleheaders with both Benedictine College and Baker University, beginning with Benedictine Saturday, April 23 at 12:00 p.m. at Cox Softball Complex.
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 Continental Athletic Conference (Independents).
- 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.
2022 NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll Four (April 20, 2022)
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 3 | Mobile (Ala.) [11] | 37-1 | 518 |
| 2 | 1 | Oklahoma City [7] | 31-4 | 511 |
| 3 | 2 | Oregon Tech [1] | 38-7 | 495 |
| 4 | 4 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 39-3 | 489 |
| 5 | 5 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 37-6 | 461 |
| 6 | 7 | William Carey (Miss.) | 37-6 | 441 |
| 7 | 6 | College of Idaho | 35-8 | 425 |
| 8 | 8 | Indiana Wesleyan | 35-6 | 409 |
| 9 | 11 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 27-4 | 388 |
| 10 | 9 | Southern Oregon | 38-10 | 383 |
| 11 | 12 | Grand View (Iowa) | 30-5 | 347 |
| 12 | 10 | Coastal Georgia | 34-7 | 335 |
| 13 | 13 | Texas A&M Texarkana | 32-8 | 330 |
| 14 | 16 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 25-5 | 286 |
| 15 | 14 | Georgia Gwinnett | 29-15 | 276 |
| 15 | 17 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 31-11 | 276 |
| 17 | 18 | Marian (Ind.) | 26-7 | 249 |
| 18 | 20 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 36-7 | 242 |
| 19 | 21 | Columbia (Mo.) | 22-10 | 191 |
| 20 | 19 | Madonna (Mich.) | 20-4 | 178 |
| 21 | 24 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 30-5 | 162 |
| 22 | RV | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 28-13 | 138 |
| 23 | 24 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 22-6 | 134 |
| 24 | 23 | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 29-3 | 130 |
| 25 | RV | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | 37-8 | 122 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Ottawa (Kan.), Cumberlands (Ky.)
Others Receiving Votes: Ottawa (Kan.) 120, Cumberlands (Ky.) 105, William Jessup (Calif.) 77, Midland (Neb.) 45, Vanguard (Calif.) 31, Eastern Oregon 25, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 24, Bellevue (Neb.) 10, Oklahoma Wesleyan 7, Cottey (Mo.) 7, Middle Georgia State 6, Rio Grande (Ohio) 5, Webber International (Fla.) 4, Mount Marty (S.D.) 4.
#TakeFlight
