Madonna (Mich.) Takes Over at No. 1 in Final Installment of NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Only six teams hold steady in the final Netting Professionals NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 poll of the 2026 season with Southern Oregon, Missouri Baptist, Evangel (Mo.), and Midland (Neb.). We also have a new No. 1 team as conference tournaments are in full swing, with Madonna (Mich.) narrowly in front of the previous No. 1 and now No. 2 Oregon Tech. The trend of split first-place votes continued this week as well, with No. 1 through No. 3 all earning a share. Then, Eastern Oregon, which slid one spot into a tie at No. 6, earned the final first-place vote for the week.
Nine teams either ranked or receiving votes have already punched a ticket to the NAIA Softball Opening Rounds, with No. 1 Madonna, No. 4 Science & Arts (Okla.), No. 8 Missouri Baptist, No. 14 Evangel (Mo.), No. 15 LSU Alexandria (La.), No. 21 Saint Xavier (Ill.), No. 23 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 24 Midland (Neb.), and receiving votes Williams Baptist (Ark.).
| TREND | RANK | LAST TIME | INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▲ | 1 | 3 | 
|
Madonna (Mich.) [5] | 43-4 | 485 |
| ▼ | 2 | 1 | 
|
Oregon Tech [10] | 40-6 | 481 |
| ▲ | 3 | 4 | 
|
Southeastern (Fla.) [2] | 41-5 | 477 |
| ▲ | 4 | 7 | 
|
Science and Arts (Okla.) | 44-8 | 438 |
| ▼ | 5 | 2 | 
|
Oklahoma City | 43-7 | 414 |
| ▼ | T-6 | 5 | 
|
Eastern Oregon [1] | 37-9 | 405 |
| ● | T-6 | 6 | 
|
Southern Oregon | 37-13 | 405 |
| ● | 8 | 8 | 
|
Missouri Baptist | 37-10 | 375 |
| ▲ | 9 | 10 | 
|
Keiser (Fla.) | 41-7 | 365 |
| ▲ | 10 | 11 | 
|
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 38-6 | 363 |
| ▼ | 11 | 9 | 
|
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | 34-9 | 352 |
| ▲ | 12 | 13 | 
|
William Carey (Miss.) | 34-11 | 321 |
| ▼ | 13 | 12 | 
|
Mobile (Ala.) | 32-13 | 296 |
| ● | 14 | 14 | 
|
Evangel (Mo.) | 39-9 | 246 |
| ▲ | 15 | 16 | 
|
LSU Alexandria (La.) | 31-14 | 241 |
| ▼ | 16 | 15 | 
|
Grand View (Iowa) | 34-14 | 232 |
| ▲ | 17 | 18 | 
|
Cumberlands (Ky.) | 34-16 | 176 |
| ▲ | 18 | 19 | 
|
Coastal Georgia | 34-10 | 174 |
| ▲ | 19 | 21 | 
|
Texas A&M-Texarkana | 34-12 | 162 |
| ▼ | 20 | 17 | 
|
Central Methodist (Mo.) | 34-15 | 152 |
| ▲ | 21 | 23 | 
|
Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 37-12 | 132 |
| ▼ | 22 | 20 | 
|
Marian (Ind.) | 31-14 | 121 |
| ▲ | 23 | RV | 
|
Indiana Wesleyan | 37-11 | 113 |
| ● | 24 | 24 | 
|
Midland (Neb.) | 36-12 | 110 |
| ▲ | 25 | RV | 
|
Faulkner (Ala.) | 33-12 | 87 |
| Dropped from Top 25: St. Thomas (Fla.) and Tennessee Southern | ||||||
| Receiving Votes: St. Thomas (Fla.) 83; Benedictine (Kan.) 72; Tennessee Southern 49; Saint Francis (Ind.) 41; Arizona Christian 33; Dordt (Iowa) 31; College of Idaho 23; Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) 21; Campbellsville (Ky.) 16; St. Francis (Ill.) 15; British Columbia (B.C.) 12; Hope International (Calif.) 11; Indiana Tech 9; Ottawa (Kan.) 9; Williams Baptist (Ark.) 9; Georgia Gwinnett 8; Northwestern (Iowa) 4; Oklahoma Wesleyan 3 | ||||||
Key:
RV - Receiving Votes
NR - Not Ranked
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.
