Top 25 - Final
November 02, 2011
The 32-team field for the 2011 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Opening Round will be announced Sunday by 5 p.m. CST, followed by the official bracket by 7 p.m. Both announcements will be made on www.NAIA.org.
As the only undefeated team in the NAIA, Lindsey Wilson was the unanimous decision as the top team. The Blue Raiders earned 19 first-place votes and 529 points after winning the Mid-South Conference Tournament Championship. With an 18-0-0 record, Lindsey Wilson will be playing in its 19th NAIA National Championship, with the Opening Round being contested on Nov. 19.
Defending national champion Hastings (Neb.) moved up one position to second with 510 points. With a loss in the finals of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) Tournament, No. 3 Baker (Kan.) slides down one spot. No. 4 Rio Grande (Ohio) held its ranking with 479 points. Improving two positions, No. 5 Bethel (Tenn.) gathered 452 points.
No. 12 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) made the highest jump of seven spots to 12th. As the No. 5 seed in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Tournament, the Warhawks advanced to the title game and tied then-No. 9 Southern Poly (Ga.), 2-2. Southern Poly advanced on penalty kicks and slid up to No. 6 in the Top 25.
Mobile (Ala.) dropped from fifth to No. 13 for the largest tumble. The Rams lost to Auburn Montgomery, 3-2, in the SSAC semifinals.
No. 25 Huston-Tillotson (Texas) is nationally ranked for the first time since the 2000 season. The Rams won the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Championship after a 1-0 defeat of Texas at Brownsville on Saturday. Milligan (Tenn.) was the team that dropped out of the Top 25 poll, after holding the 25th spot last week.
The SSAC leads all conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups with five teams in the Top 25: Southern Poly, Auburn Montgomery, Mobile, No. 18 Belhaven (Miss.) and No. 20 William Carey (Miss.). Both the HAAC and Golden State Athletic Conference claim a trio of ranked clubs. Overall, 14 of the 22 conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are listed.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conference/independents/unaffiliated groups.
Notes: (All information dates back to 2000) No. 25 Huston-Tillotson (Texas) becomes the second team out of the Red River Athletic Conference to be ranked in 2011 - Texas at Brownsville was 19th in the Preseason Top 25... Top-ranked Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) now stands with 35 No. 1 mentions, which ranks second on the all-time list - No. 4 Rio Grande (Ohio) leads the group (36), followed by Bethel (Tenn.) (11), Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) (9), Hastings (Neb.) (8), Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (5) and Concordia (Calif.) (5)... With 20 victories, No. 2 Hastings owns the most this season... There have been 45 programs ranked in 11 polls this season and 14 of those have held a spot each week... Rio Grande has been ranked in the top 10 for the last 35-straight polls, dating back to the start of the 2009 season... Overall, there have been 16 different teams to claim the No. 1 spot... Lindsey Wilson holds the distinction of being consecutively ranked the longest among active schools - 56-straight polls, dating back to the 2007 Preseason Top 25 Poll... Rio Grande is next in line with 50, followed by Azusa Pacific with 43 and Hastings with 41... Since 2000, two teams have rattled through the entire season ranked No. 1 - Bethel in 2009 and Rio Grande during the 2004 season.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2011 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (19) | 18-0-0 | 529 |
| 2 | 3 | Hastings (Neb.) | 20-1-0 | 510 |
| 3 | 2 | Baker (Kan.) | 17-1-1 | 490 |
| 4 | 4 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 17-2-0 | 479 |
| 5 | 7 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 14-2-2 | 452 |
| 6 | 9 | Southern Poly (Ga.) | 15-2-2 | 439 |
| 7 | 9 | Concordia (Ore.) | 16-1-1 | 409 |
| 8 | 6 | Missouri Valley | 14-2-1 | 407 |
| 9 | 8 | Grand View (Iowa) | 16-2-2 | 398 |
| 10 | 12 | Kansas Wesleyan | 17-3-0 | 371 |
| 11 | 11 | Concordia (Calif.) | 14-4-1 | 355 |
| 12 | 19 | Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) | 12-5-4 | 354 |
| 13 | 5 | Mobile (Ala.) | 16-2-1 | 327 |
| 14 | 14 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 15-3-0 | 293 |
| T15 | 15 | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 12-3-3 | 278 |
| T15 | 17 | Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) | 16-4-0 | 278 |
| 17 | 18 | Taylor (Ind.) | 19-1-1 | 258 |
| 18 | 13 | Belhaven (Miss.) | 15-4-0 | 256 |
| 19 | 23 | Biola (Calif.) | 13-5-2 | 209 |
| 20 | 16 | William Carey (Miss.) | 13-3-3 | 201 |
| 21 | 21 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | 13-4-2 | 197 |
| 22 | 24 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 16-4-0 | 191 |
| 23 | 20 | Columbia (Mo.) | 15-3-1 | 163 |
| 24 | 22 | Ashford (Iowa) | 14-5-1 | 123 |
| 25 | RV | Huston-Tillotson (Texas) | 17-2-1 | 104 |
