April 12, 2011

Contact: Amanda Dahl, NAIA Manager of Sports Information & Media Services, adahl@naia.org

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Lee (Tenn.) took over at No. 1 in the third edition of the 2011 NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the NAIA announced Tuesday. The Flames, who had been listed second through two regular season and the preseason poll, tallied 14 first-place votes for 641 points. Embry-Riddle (Fla.) slid up to second with a pair of first-place nods for 625 points. Previously top-ranked Oklahoma City checked in at No. 3 with seven first-place votes and 623 points. California Baptist climbed to No. 4 and LSU Shreveport (La.) moved to fifth.

Twelve conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups have at least one team represented in the preseason poll, while six boast multiple Top-25 teams. The Southern States Athletic Conference continues to lead the way with six listed squads in Lee, No. 8 Brewton-Parker (Ga.), No. 15 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), No. 20 Faulkner (Ala.), No. 22 Southern Poly Tech (Ga.) and No. 24 Belhaven (Miss.).

The Sooner Athletic Conference landed four squads among the Top 25: Oklahoma City, No. 6 Oklahoma Baptist, No. 15 Rogers State (Okla.) and No. 19 Lubbock Christian (Texas). The Golden State Athletic Conference has a trio of ranked programs, while three other leagues have a pair of listed teams.

No. 21 Southeastern (Fla.) was the only club that maintained position on the poll, as 11 teams improved in rank and a dozen dropped. Defending national champion Cumberland (Tenn.) received the biggest boost, moving up eight spots to No. 10 after spending last week at No. 18. Both No. 14 Missouri Baptist and No. 20 Faulkner (Ala.) jumped five spots, while California Baptist's move to fourth is a four-spot change.

Although 12 teams shifted backwards among the Top 25, a shift of four spots was the greatest damage suffered. Dropping back four spots from their previous ranking were No. 8 Brewton-Parker, No. 15 Rogers State, No. 17 Union (Tenn.) and No. 18 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho).

Madonna (Mich.) returns to the poll at No. 25 after a three-week hiatus. The Crusaders (25-10) were ranked 11th in the preseason announcement, but failed to appear in a regular-season poll. They replace York (Neb.), who was previously ranked 22nd.

Top-ranked Lee's 38 wins are the most victories among all Top-25 teams. The Flames own a mark of 38-7, including a 12-0 record in SSAC action, and have won 20 of their last 21 games. While on its current seven-game winning streak, Lee has out-scored opponents 62-29 and the pitching staff has held foes to .221 from the plate.

Seventeen teams join Lee with 30-or more victories, three of which have surpassed 35 wins. Of those clubs with 30-or more wins to their credit, 13 have suffered 10-or fewer defeats.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups. The next poll will be announced on April 19.

Others receiving points: Point Park University (Pa.) 104; York College (Neb.) 102; Culver-Stockton College (Mo.) 55; Tennessee Wesleyan College 53; Trevecca Nazarene University (Tenn.) 51; Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) 46; Campbellsville University (Ky.) 23; Doane College (Neb.) 20; University of Texas at Brownsville 15; Shorter University (Ga.) 10; Lindenwood University (Mo.) 6; College of Idaho 6; SCAD Savannah (Ga.) 6; Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.) 4; Iowa Wesleyan College 1; Indiana University Southeast 1; Bellevue University (Neb.) 1; University of St. Francis (Ill.) 1; Taylor University (Ind.) 1; Edward Waters College (Fla.) 1; Menlo College (Calif.) 1; Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio) 1; Concordia University (Calif.) 1; William Woods University (Mo.) 1; Webber International University (Fla.) 1; Robert Morris University (Ill.) 1; California State University-San Marcos 1.