By Katie Green, Manager of Athletics Communications and Media
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Vanguard (Calif.) remains No. 1 in the 2018 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced on Tuesday. The Lions garnered eight first-place votes.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
-Vanguard holds an undefeated, 9-0, record. One of those wins was against then-No. 16 Columbia College and another over an NCAA Division II opponents Biola (Calif.) and California State L.A.
- There are no newcomers in the second edition of the poll.
-Oklahoma City holds the longest active streak in the Top 25 with 241 total appearance dating back to 1997-98 school year.
-Union (Tenn.) and Vanguard (Calif.) are the only programs to have spent an entire season ranked No. 1 (Union: 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11) (Vanguard: 2005-06, 2006-07).
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 ratings) 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 appears on.
-Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
-Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) for the 2016-17 academic season. This change will allow raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work in between rating periods.
-For the complete ratings calendar, click here.
2017-18 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 2 (Jan. 2)
| RANK | WEEK | SCHOOL [FIRST PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Vanguard (Calif.) [8] | 9-0 | 188 |
| 2 | 2 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 11-2 | 182 |
| 3 | 3 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 13-2 | 176 |
| 4 | 4 | Shawnee State (Ohio) | 13-3 | 169 |
| 5 | 5 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 8-1 | 164 |
| 6 | 7 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 11-1 | 156 |
| 7 | 6 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 11-2 | 155 |
| 8 | 8 | Oklahoma City | 10-2 | 146 |
| 9 | 9 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 11-2 | 140 |
| 10 | 12 | Montana Western | 11-3 | 126 |
| 11 | 13 | Baker (Kan.) | 12-2 | 125 |
| 12 | 9 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 12-2 | 123 |
| 13 | 14 | Lyon (Ark.) | 10-2 | 118 |
| 14 | 11 | Westmont (Calif.) | 7-4 | 116 |
| 15 | 15 | The Master's (Calif.) | 9-2 | 105 |
| 16 | 20 | Dillard (La.) | 12-2 | 90 |
| 17 | 17 | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | 10-5 | 88 |
| 18 | 16 | Columbia (Mo.) | 9-5 | 80 |
| 19 | 18 | John Brown (Ark.) | 7-4 | 72 |
| 19 | 24 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 9-6 | 72 |
| 21 | 23 | Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) | 8-3 | 70 |
| 21 | 22 | Montana State-Northern | 9-4 | 70 |
| 23 | 19 | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | 11-4 | 61 |
| 24 | 25 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 14-0 | 53 |
| 24 | 21 | Carroll (Mont.) | 9-4 | 53 |
Dropped from the rankings: None
Others receiving votes: Menlo (Calif.) 38, Providence (Mont.) 26, Loyola (La.) 22, Central Methodist (Mo.) 8, Arizona Christian 7, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 7, Cumberland (Tenn.) 7, Science & Arts (Okla.) 6
