Embry-Riddle Closes Out at No. 1 in Final Edition of 2011 NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
May 8, 2011
Contact: Amanda Dahl, NAIA Manager of Sports Information & Media Services, adahl@naia.org
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Embry-Riddle (Fla.) closed out at No. 1 in the final edition of the 2011 NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the NAIA announced Sunday. The Eagles were awarded 20 of 22 possible first-place votes for 621 points. Second-ranked Oklahoma City picked up one first-place nod for 597 points. California Baptist held steady at No. 3 with 554 points, while Oklahoma Baptist slid up one spot to No. 4 with 546 points. Cumberland (Tenn.) moved back to No. 5 with 543 points. No. 11 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) tallied the remaining first-place vote.
The 45 NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round qualifiers and nine National Championship Opening Round hosts will officially be announced Sunday by 4 p.m. CDT, followed by the bracket by 6 p.m.
Thirteen conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups have at least one team represented in the poll, five of which boast multiple Top-25 teams. The Southern States Athletic Conference continues to lead the way with six listed squads in No. 7 Lee (Tenn.), No. 10 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), No. 12 Faulkner (Ala.), No. 15 Brewton-Parker (Ga.), No. 19 Southern Poly Tech (Ga.) and No. 20 Belhaven (Miss.).
The Sooner Athletic Conference maintained its four squads among the Top 25: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Baptist, No. 9 Lubbock Christian (Texas) and No. 15 Rogers State (Okla.). The Golden State Athletic Conference has a trio of ranked programs, while two other leagues have a pair of listed teams.
After a two-poll absence, Union (Tenn.) returns to the poll at No. 22 as the TranSouth Athletic Conference Tournament champion. York (Neb.) also returned to the Top 25, landing at No. 24, despite falling to Bellevue (Neb.) for the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title, 4-3. Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) and Madonna (Mich.) fell out of the poll after owning the Nos. 22 and 25 spots, respectively.
No. 9 Lubbock Christian, No. 10 Auburn Montgomery, No. 13 Biola (Calif.), No. 14 Missouri Baptist and No. 23 Point Park (Pa.) joined the top-three teams as clubs that retained their previous ranking.
Of the seven teams that made a push up in the poll, Rogers State made the biggest improvement with a four-spot jump from No. 19 to 15 (tie) and No. 17 British Columbia improved by three spots. No. 21 Northwood (Texas) suffered a four-spot fall and No. 18 Fresno Pacific (Calif.) dropped three spots.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2011 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.) (20) | 47-9 | 621 |
| 2 | 2 | Oklahoma City University (1) | 43-10 | 597 |
| 3 | 3 | California Baptist University | 41-14 | 554 |
| 4 | 5 | Oklahoma Baptist University | 42-12 | 546 |
| 5 | 4 | Cumberland University (Tenn.) | 43-14 | 543 |
| 6 | 8 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 42-13 | 521 |
| 7 | 6 | Lee University (Tenn.) | 44-12 | 507 |
| 8 | 7 | Union College (Ky.) | 45-10 | 485 |
| 9 | 9 | Lubbock Christian University (Texas) | 43-12 | 455 |
| 10 | 10 | Auburn University Montgomery (Ala.) | 40-17 | 433 |
| 11 | 12 | Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) (1) | 35-14 | 424 |
| 12 | 11 | Faulkner University (Ala.) | 45-12 | 389 |
| 13 | 13 | Biola University (Calif.) | 36-20 | 388 |
| 14 | 14 | Missouri Baptist University | 38-11 | 363 |
| 15 | 16 | Brewton-Parker College (Ga.) | 35-16 | 310 |
| 15 | 19 | Rogers State University (Okla.) | 45-13 | 310 |
| 17 | 20 | University of British Columbia | 30-15 | 286 |
| 18 | 15 | Fresno Pacific University (Calif.) | 30-19 | 285 |
| 19 | 18 | Southern Polytechnic State University (Ga.) | 40-15 | 246 |
| 20 | 21 | Belhaven University (Miss.) | 43-16 | 203 |
| 21 | 17 | Northwood University (Texas) | 37-16 | 187 |
| 22 | RV | Union University (Tenn.) | 38-15 | 152 |
| 23 | 23 | Point Park University (Pa.) | 38-13 | 142 |
| 24 | RV | York College (Neb.) | 39-14 | 124 |
| 25 | 24 | Culver-Stockton College (Mo.) | 36-15 | 110 |
Others receiving votes: Madonna University (Mich.) 84; Concordia University (Calif.) 79; Tennessee Wesleyan College 67; Taylor University (Ind.) 54; Trevecca Nazarene University (Tenn.) 49; Campbellsville University (Ky.) 37; Southeastern University (Fla.) 33; University of St. Francis (Ill.) 27; Robert Morris University (Ill.) 26; Indiana University Southeast 23; Kansas Wesleyan University 19; Jamestown College (N.D.) 19; College of Idaho 18; California State University-San Marcos 14; Iowa Wesleyan College 9; Judson University (Ill.) 6; Indiana Institute of Technology 5; Bellevue University (Neb.) 5; William Woods University (Mo.) 4; SCAD Savannah (Ga.) 1; Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) 1; Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio) 1; Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.) 1; Shawnee State University (Ohio) 1; Tabor College (Kan.) 1; Saint Thomas University (Fla.) 1; University of Houston - Victoria (Texas) 1.
