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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the first time in school history, Science & Arts (Okla.) is ranked No. 1 after winning its first-ever World Series championship, announced Wednesday by the national office. The Drovers (57-5) collected all 18 first-place votes and 498 total points in the 2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Postseason Poll.

Top 25 Highlights:

  • National champion Science & Arts (Okla.) won the World Series with a 4-1 victory against Columbia (Mo.) on May 31. The Drovers rattled through the event unscathed with a 4-0 mark.
  • As a team, the Drovers ranked sixth in the NAIA in runs scored per game (7.0) and 21st in batting average (.331).
  • National runner-up Columbia climbed up to No. 2 in the postseason edition. With a 37-16 record, the Cougars claimed its highest postseason finish and tied its highest Top 25 ranking – No. 2 on Jan. 16, 2018 (preseason).
  • No. 7 Indiana Wesleyan claims the most wins in the NAIA with a 58-12 mark.

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.
  • For the complete calendar of 2018 Top 25 Polls,click here.

2018 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Top 25 Postseason Poll

RANK LAST WEEK^ SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) 2018 RECORD TOTAL POINTS 1 5 Science & Arts (Okla.) (18) 57-5 498 2 RV Columbia (Mo.) 37-16 477 3 8 Southern Oregon 51-15 458 4 2 Oklahoma City 53-9 454 5 1 Georgia Gwinnett 53-6 433 6 3 Marian (Ind.) 51-7 425 7 7 Indiana Wesleyan 58-12 402 8 9 Mobile (Ala.) 45-15 372 9 21 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 36-16 366 10 17 Faulkner (Ala.) 47-15 351 11 4 Campbellsville (Ky.) 47-10 350 12 6 Hope International (Calif.) 47-11 309 13 20 Oregon Tech 39-15 263 14 10 Vanguard (Calif.) 50-12 260 15 15 St. Francis (Ill.) 41-9 255 16 16 Grand View (Iowa) 48-10 249 17 12 Thomas (Ga.) 39-16 232 18 11 Jamestown (N.D.) 44-9 230 19 13 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 40-16 227 20 14 Corban (Ore.) 37-15 214 21 18 Central Methodist (Mo.) 43-11 196 22 19 William Carey (Miss.) 39-15 167 23 23 Truett-McConnell (Ga.) 43-17 164 24 22 Southeastern (Fla.) 40-18 112 25 T25 Baker (Kan.) 40-16 91  

Others Receiving Votes: Rio Grande (Ohio) 64; Midland (Neb.) 62; Valley City State (N.D.) 60; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 43; Tabor (Kan.) 36; Aquinas (Mich.) 32; Morningside (Iowa) 25; Brenau (Ga.) 23; Houston-Victoria (Texas) 9; Texas Wesleyan 9;Georgetown (Ky.) 7; Simpson (Calif.) 6; USC Beaufort (S.C.) 5.

Dropped Out: No. 24 Rio Grande (Ohio); No. 25 (tie) Valley City State (N.D.)

^ Previous ranking occurred May 8, 2018

— Courtesy of NAIA