Nobody Drops Out, But Order Shifts in Season's Final NAIA Women’s Cross Country Top 25
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Taylor (Ind.) claimed 15 of the 18 first-place votes cast to remain No. 1 in the 2025 NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Rating, and Milligan (Tenn.) picked up ground, claiming three first-place votes to remain at No. 2. The Nov. 11 edition of the rating is the final Top 25 of the 2025 season.
All 25 teams from the Oct. 30 rating stayed in the first 25 in the season's final rating, although there were three significant jumps, as Kansas Wesleyan went from No. 14 to No. 11, Benedictine (Kan.) went from No. 19 to No. 13, and Aquinas (Mich.) moved from No. 23 to No. 19.
The 2025 NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Final Rating decided second automatic bids, if those automatic qualifiers are in the top 30, as well as at-large selections to the 2025 NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship, next week in Tallahassee, Fla.
Final Top 25:
| Rank | Last Rating | Institution [First Place Votes] | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 
|
Taylor (Ind.) [15] | 525 |
| 2 | 2 | 
|
Milligan (Tenn.) [3] | 512 |
| 3 | 5 | 
|
College of Idaho | 479 |
| 4 | 6 | 
|
Cornerstone (Mich.) | 455 |
| 5 | T-3 | 
|
The Master's (Calif.) | 449 |
| 6 | T-3 | 
|
Cumberlands (Ky.) | 446 |
| 7 | 7 | 
|
Dordt (Iowa) | 445 |
| 8 | 8 | 
|
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 406 |
| 9 | 9 | 
|
Grace (Ind.) | 387 |
| 10 | 11 | 
|
Marian (Ind.) | 357 |
| 11 | 14 | 
|
Kansas Wesleyan | 351 |
| 12 | 10 | 
|
Saint Mary (Kan.) | 337 |
| 13 | 12 | 
|
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 316 |
| 14 | 13 | 
|
Indiana Wesleyan | 306 |
| 15 | 19 | 
|
Benedictine (Kan.) | 291 |
| 16 | 15 | 
|
SCAD Savannah (Ga.) | 270 |
| 17 | 18 | 
|
Southern Oregon | 250 |
| 18 | 16 | 
|
Eastern Oregon | 215 |
| 19 | 23 | 
|
Aquinas (Mich.) | 201 |
| 20 | 20 | 
|
Carroll (Mont.) | 189 |
| 21 | 17 | 
|
Montana Tech | 186 |
| 22 | 24 | 
|
Oklahoma City | 150 |
| 23 | 21 | 
|
Rio Grande (Ohio) | 149 |
| 24 | 22 | 
|
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 134 |
| 25 | 25 | 
|
Montreat (N.C.) | 132 |
Receiving Votes, In the Top 30:
| RV | Last Rating | Institution | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | RV | 
|
Mount Mercy (Iowa) | 127 |
| 27 | RV | 
|
Shawnee State (Ohio) | 44 |
| 28 | NR | 
|
Governors State (Ill.) | 39 |
| 29 | RV | 
|
Missouri Baptist | 31 |
| T-30 | RV | 
|
Morningside (Iowa) | 20 |
| T-30 | RV | 
|
IU East (Ind.) | 20 |
Others Receiving Votes: St. Ambrose (Iowa) 19, Oregon Tech 17, Arizona Christian 13, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 12.
Ratings Methodology
- The rating is rated by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated groupings.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each rater rates the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 points for second place, 28 points for third place, and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ratings for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) are removed. The team’s rating will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) on which the team appears.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”.
