2017 NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Postseason Top 25 Poll ? Dec. 6

By Trevor Lininger, NAIA Athletic Communications and Media Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Following its first championship in program history, Wayland Baptist (Texas) claims the No. 1 spot in the NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Postseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The Pioneers captured the title on Dec. 2 with a 1-0 victory against Missouri Valley in double overtime.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
- Wayland Baptist captures all 16 first-place votes and a total of 436 points to earn the program’s first ever No. 1 ranking.
- The Pioneers entered the NAIA Men’s Soccer National Championship unseeded and defeated the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds to claim the championship.
- National runner-up Missouri Valley comes in at No. 2, a spot the Vikings held three other times this year. Uros Ilic of Missouri Valley was honored as the National Player of the Year.
- Oklahoma Wesleyan slides down one spot from the previous poll to No. 3. The Eagles landed five individuals on the NAIA All-America Teams.
- Marymount California moves up 13 spots to No. 4 following a semifinal appearance at the national championship.
- Rounding out the postseason top 5 is William Carey (Miss.). The Crusaders held the top spot for seven-straight weeks, the most of any team in 2017.
- Four teams join the Top 25 in this week’s poll: No. 14 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.), No. 22 Truett-McConnell (Ga.), No. 23 Westmont (Calif.) and No. 24 UC Merced.
- 10 teams maintained a spot in the Top 25 ranking each of the 12 polls.
- Rio Grande (Ohio) currently holds the record for the most No. 1 rankings all-time with 57 total.
- No. 9 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) holds the record for the longest consecutively-ranked active school at 117-straight polls, dating back to the first installment of the Top 25 in 2007. Rio Grande (Ohio) is second on the list with 108-straight polls.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes".
- For the complete men’s soccer ratings calendar, click here.
2017 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Postseason Top 25 Poll – Dec. 6
RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1ST PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
1 | 23 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) [16] | 19-5-1 | 436 |
2 | 4 | Missouri Valley | 19-3-3 | 421 |
3 | 2 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 20-1-1 | 406 |
4 | 17 | Marymount California | 18-4-2 | 397 |
5 | 1 | William Carey (Miss.) | 18-2-1 | 380 |
6 | 8 | Mobile (Ala.) | 14-4-3 | 359 |
7 | 15 | Columbia (Mo.) | 19-2-3 | 348 |
8 | 9 | Georgia Gwinnett | 13-4-2 | 346 |
9 | 6 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 14-4-0 | 305 |
10 | 5 | Baker (Kan.) | 16-5-2 | 302 |
11 | 7 | Hastings (Neb.) | 19-3-1 | 295 |
12 | 13 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 14-1-2 | 294 |
13 | 10 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 16-4-0 | 277 |
14 | NR | Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) | 16-3-2 | 241 |
15 | 24 | Madonna (Mich.) | 16-4-1 | 234 |
16 | 3 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 14-2-2 | 216 |
17 | 11 | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 16-1-2 | 191 |
18 | 12 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 13-3-3 | 177 |
19 | 18 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 12-5-3 | 167 |
20 | 22 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 15-3-2 | 165 |
21 | 14 | Corban (Ore.) | 15-3-4 | 161 |
22 | NR | Truett-McConnell (Ga.) | 16-4-2 | 117 |
23 | NR | Westmont (Calif.) | 10-5-3 | 98 |
24 | NR | UC Merced | 13-2-5 | 76 |
25 | 16 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 14-3-2 | 69 |
Dropped From Top 25: Dalton State (Ga.), Campbellsville (Ky.), Spring Arbor (Mich.), Bryan (Tenn.)
Others Receiving Votes: Northwestern Ohio 66; Southwestern Christian (Okla.) 65; Dalton State (Ga.) 59; Campbellsville (Ky.) 50; William Woods (Mo.) 45; Grace (Ind.) 44; Spring Arbor (Mich.) 44; Houston-Victoria (Texas) 23; Southern Oregon 19; Bryan (Tenn.) 17; Concordia (Neb.) 10; Keiser (Fla.) 7; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 7; Oklahoma City 4; Reinhardt (Ga.) 3