Posted: Apr 17, 2026
Kansas City, Mo. - The Central Methodist Softball program moved one spot to No. 17 in the fourth edition of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 poll, which was announced by the national office.
No. 8 Missouri Baptist, No. 15 Grand View, and (RV) Benedictine are the other three programs from the Heart of America to be featured.
Central is currently 27-14 and 13-7 in the Heart of America Conference.
CMU will host Peru State for a doubleheader on Sunday, April 19, at 1:00 p.m. at Reardon Family Field. The Eagles will host one of two senior day ceremony on Sunday at the conclusion of game two.
To view the poll methodology and the complete Top 25 poll, please see below:
Poll Methodology
- The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration.
- A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll.
- The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system:
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- 30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on.
- The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.
- Teams receiving only one point are not listed as "receiving votes."
- For the Preseason Poll, there is no "previous ranking" column since it is the initial poll and differs from the prior rating system.
- Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered "receiving votes."
| RANK | LAST TIME | INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Oregon Tech [11] | 36-4 | 493 |
| 2 | T-2 | Oklahoma City [4] | 37-3 | 487 |
| 3 | T-2 | Madonna (Mich.) [1] | 35-3 | 476 |
| 4 | 6 | Southeastern (Fla.) [2] | 36-4 | 454 |
| 5 | 4 | Eastern Oregon [1] | 32-6 | 426 |
| 6 | 5 | Southern Oregon | 29-11 | 406 |
| 7 | 8 | Science and Arts (Okla.) | 37-7 | 388 |
| 8 | 10 | Missouri Baptist | 30-7 | 387 |
| 9 | 7 | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | 30-7 | 385 |
| 10 | 9 | Keiser (Fla.) | 38-4 | 378 |
| 11 | T-11 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 31-5 | 345 |
| 12 | 14 | Mobile (Ala.) | 27-10 | 302 |
| 13 | 16 | William Carey (Miss.) | 30-9 | 298 |
| 14 | 13 | Evangel (Mo.) | 34-8 | 259 |
| 15 | 17 | Grand View (Iowa) | 24-12 | 222 |
| 16 | 24 | LSU Alexandria (La.) | 24-14 | 204 |
| 17 | 18 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 27-12 | 187 |
| 18 | 20 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 27-13 | 181 |
| 19 | 23 | Coastal Georgia | 32-8 | 180 |
| 20 | T-11 | Marian (Ind.) | 24-11 | 172 |
| 21 | 21 | Texas A&M University – Texarkana | 29-12 | 147 |
| 22 | 15 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 24-16 | 116 |
| 23 | RV | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 29-9 | 114 |
| 24 | 22 | Midland (Neb.) | 28-10 | 111 |
| 25 | 19 | Tennessee Southern | 25-11 | 106 |
| Dropped from Top 25: Benedictine (Kan.) | ||||
| Receiving Votes: Indiana Wesleyan 91; College of Idaho 78; Faulkner (Ala.) 70; Benedictine (Kan.) 57; Saint Francis (Ind.) 46; Hope International(Calif.) 40; British Columbia 26; Northwestern (Iowa) 24; Dordt (Iowa) 22; Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) 17; Arizona Christian 15; Georgia Gwinnett 12; Indiana Tech 12; Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) 9; Cumberland (Tenn.) 8; Reinhardt (Ga.) 8; St. Francis (Ill.) 8; Ottawa (Kan.) 6; Campbellsville (Ky.) 5; Avila (Mo.) 3; Oklahoma Wesleyan 3; Cottey (Mo.) 2 | ||||
#TakeFlight
