Chaps Ranked Fourth

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Oklahoma City topped the 2011 - 12 NAIA Baseball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Stars, who finished their 2011 campaign with a record of 47-12 and an appearance at the Avista-NAIA World Series, were awarded four first-place votes for 481 points. It is earn their 28th No. 1-ranking since the 2000 season.

First-place nods were scattered among four additional teams with defending national champion and second-ranked Concordia (Calif.) earning 10 of them for 465 points. The Eagles were unranked in the final poll last season and captured their first-ever title as the ninth-seeded team in Lewiston, Idaho. They appear on the poll for the first time since being listed 15th in the March 7, 2007, edition.

Third-ranked Lee (Tenn.) tallied one first-place vote for 457 points, while No. 5 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) earned a pair for 447 points and No. 6 LSU Shreveport (La.) picked up the final first-place nod for 426 points. After a runner-up finish in Lewiston, Lubbock Christian (Texas) vaulted up five spots from its final ranking of ninth, to fourth with 448 points to start the 2011 campaign.

Both LSU Shreveport and No. 11 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) remained in the same positions from the final poll and all but one change was made to the top-10 squads. Faulkner (Ala.), who emerged from the Kingsport Bracket National Championship Opening Round by defeating top-seeded Union (Ky.), climbed into the top 10 at No. 8. It is the highest ranking for the Eagles since the 2004 season when they rose as high as sixth. Ranked eighth in the final poll, Union dropped back to 12th in the preseason announcement.

In addition to Concordia, newcomers to the poll include No. 18 Tennessee Wesleyan, No. 23 Madonna (Mich.) and No. 25 Taylor (Ind.). The trio of squads were listed at least once on the Top 25 a year ago. Teams that were listed on the final poll that did not retain a position include Brewton-Parker (Ga.) (No. 15), Point Park (Pa.) (No. 23) and Culver-Stockton (Mo.) (No. 25).

Thirteen of the 18 baseball conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by five squads from the Southern States Athletic Conference: Lee, Faulkner, No. 13 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), No. 15 Belhaven (Miss.) and No. 21 Southern Poly (Ga.). The Sooner Athletic Conferences boasts four ranked teams in Oklahoma City, Lubbock Christian, No. 9 Oklahoma Baptist and No. 19 Rogers State (Okla.).

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups. The first regular-season Top 25 poll will be announced on March 27, 2012.

Notes: (All information dates back to 2000 season) Oklahoma City has now made 28 appearances at No. 1, a figure that ranks it second behind Lewis-Clark State’s (Idaho) 53 all-time No. 1-rankings … Lubbock Christian (Texas) comes in next with 13 No. 1 appearances, followed by Embry-Riddle (Fla.) with 11, Cumberland (Tenn.) with four and Lee (Tenn.) with two … Oklahoma City last went unranked in the 2009 preseason poll, but has been rated no lower than seventh since then … No. 2 Concordia (Calif.) has vaulted into the Top 25 for the first time since being ranked No. 15 on March 7, 2007 … No. 3 Lee (Tenn.) has now been ranked in 54-consecutive polls … No. 18 Tennessee Wesleyan is ranked for the first time since the first regular-season poll of last season, while No. 25 Taylor (Ind.) checks in for the first time since last season’s preseason poll.

Others receiving votes: Point Park (Pa.) 93; Campbellsville (Ky.) 85; Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 67; Tabor (Kan.) 48; Iowa Wesleyan 47; Cal State San Marcos 43; Indiana Tech 30; Culver-Stockton (Mo.) 28; St. Thomas (Fla.) 28; Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) 27; Robert Morris (Ill.) 24; William Woods (Mo.) 14; Doane (Neb.) 14; Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 9; St. Francis (Ill.) 7; Texas at Brownsville 4; South Carolina Beaufort 3; Shawnee State (Ohio) 3; Bellevue (Neb.) 1; Northwestern Ohio 1; Houston-Victoria (Texas) 1; Southeastern (Fla.) 1; Webber International (Fla.) 1; College of Idaho 1; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 1; Shorter (Ga.) 1; Indiana Southeast 1; SCAD Savannah (Ga.) 1.

^ 2011 NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Final Poll