LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The top two teams were unchanged and the top 10 was reconfigured, but contained the same teams, in this week’s NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Top-ranked Salisbury (26-2) will end its 11-day break with a doubleheader Wednesday at Stevenson that kicks off a six-game week, while No. 2 Christopher Newport (15-3) extended its win streak to eight with a sweep of Bridgewater. The defending champion Captains have six games themselves — three straight road twinbills — starting today at William Peace.
Texas Lutheran (27-3) is the new No. 3 team after a three-game sweep of Southwestern, and Berry (27-4) moved up to fourth following its sweep of then-No. 13 Birmingham-Southern (22-7). Trine (19-3) dropped two places to fifth after splitting with Muskingum last Thursday.
Randolph-Macon (21-5) moved up to No. 9 after its top-10 sweep of Virginia Wesleyan, while those two losses dropped the (21-7) Marlins from sixth to 10th.
Elsewhere, Saint Benedict (13-1) finally got back on the field for the first time since March 11 — and for the first time at home — with doubleheader sweeps of St. Olaf and Augsburg to run its weather-paused win streak to 11. And Mary Hardin-Baylor (18-9) gained three spots to 19th after a ranked sweep of then-No. 19 Hardin-Simmons.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll is selected by 10 NCAA Division III head coaches representing the 10 NCAA regions. Current 2023 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses. Weekly polls continue through May 16. A final poll will be released on June 13 following completion of the national championship.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
2023 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Salisbury (10) |
250 |
26-2 |
1 |
|
2 |
Christopher Newport |
240 |
15-3 |
2 |
|
3 |
Texas Lutheran |
230 |
27-3 |
4 |
|
4 |
Berry |
220 |
27-4 |
5 |
|
5 |
Trine |
210 |
19-3 |
3 |
|
6 |
Linfield |
200 |
27-3 |
7 |
|
7 |
Case Western Reserve |
190 |
23-2 |
8 |
|
8 |
Tufts |
180 |
21-1 |
9 |
|
9 |
Randolph-Macon |
170 |
21-5 |
10 |
|
10 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
160 |
21-7 |
6 |
|
11 |
Bethel |
150 |
13-3 |
11 |
|
12 |
East Texas Baptist |
140 |
22-4 |
12 |
|
13 |
Saint Benedict (Minn.) |
130 |
13-1 |
14 |
|
14 |
Birmingham-Southern |
120 |
22-7 |
13 |
|
15 |
Rowan |
110 |
23-3 |
15 |
|
16 |
Transylvania |
100 |
16-7 |
16 |
|
17 |
Concordia (Wis.) |
90 |
18-3 |
18 |
|
18 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
80 |
21-1 |
20 |
|
19 |
Mary Hardin-Baylor |
70 |
18-9 |
22 |
|
20 |
Pfeiffer |
60 |
21-9 |
23 |
|
21 |
Central (Iowa) |
50 |
20-4 |
17 |
|
22 |
Coe |
40 |
21-3 |
21 |
|
23 |
Hardin-Simmons |
30 |
22-5 |
19 |
|
24 |
Luther |
20 |
21-3 |
24 |
|
T25 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
5 |
18-1 |
RV |
|
T25 |
Rochester |
5 |
13-5 |
RV |
Others receiving votes: None.
Dropped out: Piedmont and Simpson.
2023 NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee
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