LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With two weeks of competition in the books, North Georgia is the unanimous No. 1 in the first 2024 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll of the regular season, while there were big shifts up and down the remainder of the rankings.
The NightHawks (7-1) opened their campaign with an undefeated showing at the Gulf Shores Invitational before posting a 3-1 mark in their first four home games of the season. They defeated West Florida, Spring Hill, Valdosta State and new-No. 13 West Alabama in Gulf Shores, Ala. before topping Catawba, Emmanuel and West Georgia in Dahlonega. Their lone defeat was to Catawba, 7-6.
No. 3 West Texas A&M, No. 4 Tampa, No. 5 Cal State San Marcos and No. 6 UT Tyler all moved up inside the top 10. Mississippi College and Rogers State made big leaps to No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, while Indianapolis (3-1) inched up one spot to No. 10.
The Lady Buffs took care of business over the first two weekends outscoring their competition 98-17 to run out to an 8-1 start. The Spartans (6-2) earned wins over then-No. 12 UAH, West Alabama, Montevallo and two against Valdosta State with their defeats coming to the Chargers and the Tigers.
The Cougars (6-1) posted a 4-1 mark at the CUI Kickoff Classic with its lone defeat to new-No. 14 Colorado Christian before earning two tough wins at home against then-No. 14 Adelphi, 2-1 and 1-0. After dropping their opener to MSU Denver, the Patriots reeled off eight straight, including triumphs over then-No. 17 Wingate, then-No. 13 Southern Arkansas and RV Missouri Southern.
Following an 8-0 start, Mississippi College, which made one of the biggest jumps inside the poll, comes in at No. 7 after opening the season at No. 24. The Choctaws, who are off to their best Division II start, opened the season with a 1-0 win over then-No. 22 Oklahoma Baptist and also earned wins over Southeastern Oklahoma, Augustana and RV Harding at the Mardi Gras Invitational. They enjoyed another 4-0 weekend at the Charger Chillout, which included a 13-0 win over Miles, the 900th in program history.
Rogers State moved from 19th to No. 8 after a 7-3 start with wins over St. Mary’s, Colorado Mesa, Angelo State, Midwestern State, Regis, Southern Nazarene and Maryville.
Dropping out of the top 10 were Central Oklahoma, Nova Southeastern and East Stroudsburg and are now ranked 11th, 15th and 12th, respectively.
West Alabama, Pittsburg State and Western Washington all jumped into the top 25 at No. 13, 17 and 18, respectively. The Tigers (8-2) picked up big wins over the first two weeks, knocking off ranked opponents Nova Southeastern, then-No. 18 Saint Leo, Tampa and then-RV Lubbock Christian with their only two defeats to North Georgia and Tampa.
The Gorillas (9-1) won their first nine games of the season, which includes ranked victories over Oklahoma Baptist and then-No. 16 Oklahoma Christian. The Vikings (9-0) enjoyed a pair of undefeated weekends and went 7-0 versus the California Collegiate Athletic Association to open the 2024 campaign. They went 4-0 at the CUI Kickoff Classic, which included a 3-2 12-inning victory over host Concordia. WWU followed up with five more wins at the North Bay Challenge.
The 2024 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by the NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll Committee. The committee consists of 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the NCAA’s eight regions. Results are through Sunday, Feb. 11. The poll will be revealed on Tuesdays at Noon ET through the remainder of the regular season.
2024 NFCA Division II Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
February 13
|
Rank |
School |
Points |
Record |
Previous Ranking |
|
1 |
North Georgia (16) |
400 |
7-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Grand Valley State |
384 |
0-0 |
2 |
|
3 |
West Texas A&M |
361 |
8-1 |
4 |
|
4 |
Tampa |
341 |
6-2 |
10 |
|
5 |
Cal State San Marcos |
332 |
6-1 |
7 |
|
6 |
UT Tyler |
324 |
8-1 |
8 |
|
7 |
Mississippi College |
278 |
8-0 |
24 |
|
8 |
Rogers State |
274 |
7-3 |
19 |
|
9 |
Wilmington |
271 |
0-0 |
9 |
|
10 |
Indianapolis |
255 |
3-1 |
11 |
|
11 |
Central Oklahoma |
219 |
4-4 |
3 |
|
12 |
East Stroudsburg |
206 |
3-3 |
6 |
|
13 |
West Alabama |
201 |
8-2 |
RV |
|
14 |
Colorado Christian |
180 |
8-1 |
21 |
|
15 |
Nova Southeastern |
172 |
6-2 |
5 |
|
16 |
Wingate |
151 |
8-3 |
17 |
|
17 |
Pittsburg State |
130 |
9-1 |
RV |
|
18 |
Western Washington |
118 |
9-0 |
RV |
|
19 |
Adelphi |
112 |
0-2 |
14 |
|
20 |
Charleston |
98 |
0-0 |
20 |
|
21 |
Saint Leo |
90 |
5-3 |
18 |
|
22 |
Oklahoma Christian |
56 |
4-4 |
16 |
|
23 |
Southern Arkansas |
52 |
6-3 |
13 |
|
24 |
Northwest Nazarene |
47 |
4-1 |
25 |
|
25 |
UAH |
44 |
7-3 |
12 |
New to Poll: No. 13 West Alabama, No. 17 Pittsburg State, No. 18 Western Washington
Dropped Out: 14 Concordia (4-3), No. 22 Oklahoma Baptist (2-5), No. 23 Columbus State (4-6)
Receiving Votes: Washburn (4-1), Angelo State (21), Lenoir-Rhyne (20), Concordia (17), Texas A&M-Kingsville (3), AUM (1), Missouri Southern (1).
The 2024 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by the NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll Committee. The committee consists of 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the NCAA’s eight regions.
The NFCA is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded coaches polls and All-America awards, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to awards, to in-person events and National Convention.
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