Top Three Teams Intact, Pilots Stay No.1 in Latest NAIA Baseball Top 25 Poll

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The second regular-season edition of the 2026 GoRout NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll is out, and the top teams remain firmly in place, with LSU Shreveport (La.), Georgia Gwinnett, and Taylor (Ind.) continuing to hold down the top three spots. LSU Shreveport stays at No. 1 and has only strengthened its position, riding an eight-game win streak while earning 13 first-place votes. Georgia Gwinnett remains right behind at No. 2 with one first-place vote, while Taylor holds steady at No. 3 and collected two first-place votes.

Just behind them, the rest of the top ten saw some reshuffling, highlighted by Bellevue (Neb.) jumping up to No. 4 after previously sitting at No. 7. Johnson (Tenn.) and Cumberlands (Ky.) remain steady at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, while Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and Missouri Baptist both make notable climbs into the top eight. Tennessee Wesleyan and Southeastern (Fla.) round out the top ten at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. 

Four new teams enter the poll this week, bringing fresh movement to the back half of the rankings. Indiana Tech (Ind.), Texas Wesleyan, Abraham Baldwin (Ga.), and Nelson (Texas) all break into the Top 25, replacing a group of teams that fell out from the previous edition.

Key: RV – Receiving Votes, NR – Not Ranked, ▲– Climbed, ▼– Dropped, ● – Steady

Dropped out of the Top 25: Faulkner (Ala.), Concordia (Neb.), Wayland Baptist (Texas), Oakland City (Ind.). 

Receiving Votes: IU Southeast (Ind.) 46, Faulkner (Ala.) 38, Marian (Ind.) 36, Texas A&M- Victoria (Texas) 30, Concordia (Neb.) 23, Madonna (Mich.) 22, University of British Columbia (B.C.) 21, Arizona Christian 19, Central Methodist (Mo.) 19, Milligan  (Tenn.) 16, Oakland City (Ind.) 13, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 2.

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. 

<table class="table">
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Rank</th>
      <th>University</th>
      <th>Points</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>1</td><td>Oklahoma Wesleyan University (Okla.)</td><td>504</td></tr>
    <tr><td>2</td><td>MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.)</td><td>485</td></tr>
    <tr><td>3</td><td>Keiser University (Fla.)</td><td>456</td></tr>
    <tr><td>4</td><td>Bethel University (Ind.)</td><td>455</td></tr>
    <tr><td>5</td><td>Lindsey Wilson University (Ky.)</td><td>407</td></tr>
    <tr><td>6</td><td>University of the Cumberlands (Ky.)</td><td>397</td></tr>
    <tr><td>7</td><td>Louisiana State University Shreveport (La.)</td><td>374</td></tr>
    <tr><td>8</td><td>Indiana Wesleyan University (Ind.)</td><td>364</td></tr>
    <tr><td>9</td><td>William Carey University (Miss.)</td><td>354</td></tr>
    <tr><td>10</td><td>Life University (Ga.)</td><td>351</td></tr>
    <tr><td>11</td><td>Cumberland University (Tenn.)</td><td>318</td></tr>
    <tr><td>12</td><td>Georgia Gwinnett College (Ga.)</td><td>317</td></tr>
    <tr><td>13</td><td>Grand View University (Iowa)</td><td>281</td></tr>
    <tr><td>14</td><td>Bethel University (Tenn.)</td><td>270</td></tr>
    <tr><td>15</td><td>Madonna University (Mich.)</td><td>262</td></tr>
    <tr><td>16</td><td>William Penn University (Iowa)</td><td>244</td></tr>
    <tr><td>17</td><td>Indiana Tech (Ind.)</td><td>229</td></tr>
    <tr><td>18</td><td>West Virginia University Institute of Technology (W.Va.)</td><td>215</td></tr>
    <tr><td>19</td><td>Dalton State College (Ga.)</td><td>167</td></tr>
    <tr><td>20</td><td>Grace College (Ind.)</td><td>147</td></tr>
    <tr><td>21</td><td>Ottawa University (Kan.)</td><td>118</td></tr>
    <tr><td>22</td><td>Xavier University (La.)</td><td>108</td></tr>
    <tr><td>23</td><td>Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)</td><td>89</td></tr>
    <tr><td>24</td><td>Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.)</td><td>75</td></tr>
    <tr><td>25</td><td>University of Northwestern Ohio (Ohio)</td><td>74</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>