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Georgia Gwinnett still unanimous No. 1 in 2018 NAIA Coaches’ Poll

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Georgia Gwinnett collected all 19 first-place votes and is the unanimous No. 1 in the 2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. Holding the top spot for the third consecutive week, the Grizzlies (35-2) are unanimous for the first time in program history.

Georgia Gwinnett has won 16-straight heading into its doubleheader on Tuesday at home against Reinhardt. The Grizzlies are a perfect 22-0 at home in 2018.

Second-ranked Marian (Ind.) and third-ranked Science & Arts (Okla.) switched spots, while No. 4 Campbellsville stayed put and No. 5 Oklahoma City returned to the top five.

No. 8 Vanguard (Calif.) is the first NAIA team to reach the 40-win threshold. The Lions (41-6) achieved it on April 7 against San Diego Christian (Calif.). The only newcomer this week – No. 22 (tie) Grand View (Iowa) – is on a seven-win streak. The Vikings (20-4) were ranked in the first regular-season and preseason polls.

Poll Methodology 
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions. 
• 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 ratings) 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 appears on. 
• Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes” 
• Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly. 

2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll No. 3 (April 10, 2018)

RANK LAST WEEK^ SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) 2018 RECORD TOTAL POINTS 1 1 Georgia Gwinnett (19) 35-2 529 2 3 Marian (Ind.) 23-1 503 3 2 Science & Arts (Okla.) 36-3 497 4 4 Campbellsville (Ky.) 29-4 482 5 6 Oklahoma City 32-5 463 6 15 Hope International (Calif.) 34-4 429 7 13 Mobile (Ala.) 31-8 388 8 5 Vanguard (Calif.) 41-6 384 T9 14 Southern Oregon 29-9 380 T9 11 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 29-6 380 11 12 Indiana Wesleyan 30-5 375 12 9 William Carey (Miss.) 26-8 332 13 7 Corban (Ore.) 23-8 318 14 10 Thomas (Ga.) 25-9 315 15 8 Columbia (Mo.) 16-9 285 16 16 Jamestown (N.D.) 29-6 281 17 18 Central Methodist (Mo.) 23-4 276 18 21 Faulkner (Ala.) 31-7 228 19 17 St. Francis (Ill.) 16-6 220 20 22 Warner (Fla.) 26-9 217 21 19 Brenau (Ga.) 20-11 177 T22 NR Grand View (Iowa) 20-4 141 T22 24 Oregon Tech 24-9 141 24 20 Ottawa (Kan.) 24-10 122 T25 25 Morningside (Iowa) 15-8 86 T25 23 Baker (Kan.) 25-6 86  

Others Receiving Votes: Rio Grande (Ohio) 61; Valley City State (N.D.) 58;Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 53; Southeastern (Fla.) 43; Georgetown (Ky.) 31; Texas Wesleyan 28; Aquinas (Mich.) 19; Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 16; LSU Alexandria (La.) 12; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 9; Cumberland (Tenn.) 6; Northwestern (Iowa) 3.

Dropped Out: None

^ Previous ranking occurred March 27, 2018 (Poll No. 2)

— Courtesy of NAIA