LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Concordia Irvine joined the revolving door of No. 1 teams in the 2019 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Eagles (15-1) rise to the poll’s top spot for the first time in program history and are the fifth different No. 1 team this season, one more than all of the 2018.
CUI has won 15 straight since dropping its season opener to Northwest Nazarene. Last week, the Eagles picked up four road wins, sweeping doubleheaders from Cal State East Bay (9-3 / 12-5) and PacWest foe Dominican (6-0 / 18-6). During the winning streak, CUI has recorded seven shutouts and is averaging eight runs and nine hits per game.
West Florida remained at No. 2 splitting a pair of contests against nationally-ranked foes. The Argos (22-2) had their 17-game winning streak snapped at then-No. 4 North Georgia, 2-0, but bounced back with a 3-0 triumph over then-No. 21 Wingate.
The NightHawks (20-6) come in at No. 3, going 3-1 last week with home wins over Palm Beach Atlantic, Wingate and West Florida. Central Oklahoma has rattled off 16-straight wins and continues to move up the polls, rising four more spots to No. 4. The Bronchos (20-1) swept Northwest Missouri State in a four-game Great American Conference (GAC) series, outscoring the Bearcats, 37-9, which included a season-high 17 runs in game one.
Chico State moved up one spot to No. 5, splitting a California Collegiate Athletic Association doubleheader with then-No. 19 Cal State San Bernardino. No. 6 Southern Arkansas, last week’s No. 1 team, dropped three-of-four in GAC action at Southwestern Oklahoma State.
Idle Carson-Newman (13-0), the only undefeated team in the Top 25, remained at No. 7. West Texas A&M inched up one position to No. 8. Valdosta State fell four spots to No. 9 following a 3-2 week that included wins over Union and Georgia Southwestern and two defeats at the hands of new-No. 23 Mississippi College.
No. 10 Grand Valley State enters the top 10 after a 9-1 spring break trip to Florida. The Lakers’ (14-2) pitching staff posted four shutouts and allowed just one run in four other contests.
Joining Mississippi College (17-6) as newcomers this week are No. 19 Cedarville and No. 25 Winona State. No. 12 Saint Anselm (12-6), No. 20 Angelo State (17-9) and No. 25 Newberry (17-5) dropped out.
The 2019 NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. Records reflect games played through March 10, 2019.
2019 NFCA Division II
Top 25 Coaches Poll – March 13 (Week 4)
Rank
School
Totals
2019 Record
Previous Week
1
Concordia Irvine (11)
389
15-1
3
2
West Florida (1)
376
22-2
2
3
North Georgia (2)
369
20-6
4
4
Central Oklahoma (2)
356
20-1
8
5
Chico State
323
15-4
6
6
Southern Arkansas
308
18-6
1
7
Carson-Newman
301
13-0
7
8
West Texas A&M
294
18-5
9
9
Valdosta State
281
16-5
5
10
Grand Valley State
264
14-2
11
11
Florida Tech
229
19-6
10
12
Texas A&M Kingsville
217
22-4
15
13
UC San Diego
198
16-4
14
14
UAH
185
19-6
16
15
Texas A&M-Commerce
178
20-6
18
16
Wayne State University
170
11-2
24
17
Colorado Mesa
131
16-6
12
18
Augustana
121
10-4
22
19
Cedarville
96
12-2
NR
20
Cal State San Bernardino
79
10-3
19
20
Wingate
79
16-4
21
22
Southern New Hampshire
64
7-3
23
23
Mississippi College
53
17-6
RV
24
Indianapolis
48
13-5
17
25
Winona State
34
8-2
RV
New to Poll: No. 19 Cedarville, No. 23 Mississippi College, No. 25 Winona State.
Dropped Out:No. 12 Saint Anselm, No. 20 Angelo State, No. 25 Newberry.
Receiving Votes: Tarleton State (27), Coker (18), Saint Anselm (8), Western Oregon (3), Angelo State (1).
The 2019 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the NCAA’s eight regions. Records reflect games played through March 10.