Bellevue (Neb.) Gains Ground on Top-Ranked Taylor (Ind.) in Season’s Final Baseball Coaches’ Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the third time in the month of April and the third consecutive edition of the GoRout NAIA Baseball Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, Taylor (Ind.) collected enough first-place votes to remain No. 1. Bellevue (Neb.) picked up ground on the Trojans, though, gaining two more first-place votes and leaping Georgia Gwinnett, as the two teams traded places at No. 2 and No. 3.
No. 4 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and No. 5 Cumberlands (Ky.) also moved up, as the Patriots matched Kansas Wesleyan for the most significant upward movement in the top 10, both up four spots, the Coyotes to No. 8.
Milligan (Tenn.) closed in on the top 10 as well with the poll’s largest jump of the week, from No. 21 to No. 11, while two teams – Huntington (Ind.) and British Columbia – both rejoined the Top 25.
The April 29 poll was the final Coaches’ Poll of the 2026 season, as conference tournaments get underway. NAIA postseason qualifiers and selections will be announced on YouTube and at www.naia.org on Thursday, May 6.
| Trend |
Rank |
Last |
|
Institution [First-Place Votes] |
Record |
Points |
| ● |
1 |
1 |
|
Taylor (Ind.) [7] |
45-4 |
382 |
| ▲ |
2 |
3 |
|
Bellevue (Neb.) [6] |
44-3 |
378 |
| ▼ |
3 |
2 |
|
Georgia Gwinnett [1] |
43-6 |
368 |
| ▲ |
4 |
5 |
|
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
38-7 |
335 |
| ▲ |
5 |
9 |
|
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
41-7 |
322 |
| ▼ |
6 |
4 |
|
Johnson (Tenn.) |
36-10 |
297 |
| ▼ |
7 |
6 |
|
Missouri Baptist |
38-8 |
291 |
| ▲ |
8 |
12 |
|
Webber International (Fla.) |
35-15 |
283 |
| ▲ |
9 |
10 |
|
Kansas Wesleyan |
43-6 |
274 |
| ▲ |
10 |
13 |
|
Doane (Neb.) |
39-8 |
259 |
| ▲ |
11 |
21 |
|
Milligan (Tenn.) |
38-11 |
250 |
| ▼ |
12 |
7 |
|
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
38-12 |
241 |
| ▼ |
13 |
8 |
|
Texas A&M – Victoria |
35-13 |
234 |
| ▼ |
14 |
11 |
|
Southeastern (Fla.) |
35-15 |
222 |
| ▲ |
15 |
17 |
|
Texas Wesleyan |
39-8 |
212 |
| ● |
16 |
16 |
|
Tennessee Wesleyan |
37-14 |
177 |
| ▲ |
17 |
22 |
|
Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) |
36-14 |
161 |
| ▲ |
18 |
19 |
|
Mid-America Christian (Okla.) |
35-12 |
140 |
| ▼ |
19 |
15 |
|
William Carey (Miss.) |
33-17 |
136 |
| ▲ |
20 |
22 |
|
IU Southeast (Ind.) |
35-14 |
129 |
| ▼ |
21 |
18 |
|
Hope International (Calif.) |
36-13 |
127 |
| ▲ |
22 |
RV |
|
Huntington (Ind.) |
37-10 |
89 |
| ▲ |
23 |
24 |
|
Marian (Ind.) |
35-14 |
82 |
| ▼ |
T-24 |
20 |
|
Louisiana Christian |
35-13 |
65 |
| ▲ |
T-24 |
RV |
|
British Columbia |
36-13 |
65 |
Receiving Votes: Indiana Tech 51, Oakland City (Ind.) 45, Loyola (La.) 44, Concordia (Neb.) 43, St. Thomas (Fla.) 21, Keiser (Fla.) 15, Northwestern Ohio 14, Nelson (Texas) 14, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 11, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 11, Faulkner (Ala.) 6, Ottawa (Kan.) 2, OUAZ (Ariz.) 2.
Dropped out of Top 25: Loyola (La.), St. Thomas (Fla.)
Key: RV – Receiving Votes, ▲– Climbed, ▼– Dropped, ● – Steady
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:
- 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.
