Adam Morris
– The Dalton State men’s golf program moved up a spot to No. 15 in this week’s NAIA Men’s Golf Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Friday. The Roadrunners switched places with Marian (Ind.).
With 14-0f-17 first-place votes and 463 total points, Coastal Georgia is the new No. 1 in the ranking.
The final regular-season installment will be conducted on Wednesday, May 13, 2016.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
• Starting the preseason at No. 1, the Mariners lost the top spot in the last three polls ranking as low as No. 4 and No. 3.
• In five polls this year (including the Preseason), there have now been four different No. 1 teams: Coastal Georgia, Keiser (Fla.), Johnson & Wales (Fla.) and Wayland Baptist (Texas).
• Last week’s top-ranked team, Wayland Baptist (Texas), drops down to No. 2 in this edition. The Pioneers captured the remaining three first-place nods.
• No. 25 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) finds a spot back in the Top 25 after missing the cut in the previous poll.
• No. 10 Cumberlands (Ky.), No. 14 USC Beaufort (S.C.) and No. 17 Mount Mercy (Iowa) all enjoyed the most improvement within the poll, sliding up three spots.
• No. 18 Webber International (Fla.) saw the most significant drop in the poll, falling four spots from the previous week.
• Seventeen teams have been ranked in every poll this season.
• Thirteen of 20 conferences and Unaffiliated Groups are represented this week in the Top 25. The Sun Conference is the leader with five ranked programs, followed by the Southern States Athletic Conference and the Unaffiliated Group containing the Red River Athletic Conference and Sooner Athletic Conference with three Top 25 schools each.
• Oklahoma City leads the NAIA with 39 all-time No. 1 rankings, followed by former member Oklahoma Christian (28) and Texas Wesleyan. Wayland Baptist are next with six No. 1 spots and Coastal Georgia.
• In 2015, Coastal Georgia, Oklahoma City, and William Woods held the No. 1 spot at least once during the season. There have been 11 teams all-time to hold the top position at least once.
• Oklahoma City is the only Preseason No. 1 team to go on to win the national championship during the same season – 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2010.
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”
2015-16 NAIA Men’s Golf Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 4
|
RANK
|
LAST WEEK
|
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)
|
TOTAL POINTS
|
|
1
|
3
|
Coastal Georgia (14)
|
463
|
|
2
|
1
|
Wayland Baptist (Texas) (3)
|
444
|
|
3
|
4
|
William Woods (Mo.)
|
440
|
|
4
|
2
|
Johnson & Wales (Fla.)
|
429
|
|
5
|
5
|
Keiser (Fla.)
|
403
|
|
6
|
6
|
Oklahoma City
|
398
|
|
7
|
7
|
Texas Wesleyan
|
377
|
|
8
|
9
|
Grand View (Iowa)
|
351
|
|
9
|
8
|
British Columbia
|
338
|
|
10
|
13
|
Cumberlands (Ky.)
|
320
|
|
11
|
10
|
Southeastern (Fla.)
|
315
|
|
12
|
12
|
Victoria (B.C.)
|
280
|
|
13
|
11
|
Arizona Christian
|
279
|
|
14
|
17
|
USC Beaufort (S.C.)
|
275
|
|
15
|
16
|
Dalton State (Ga.)
|
257
|
|
16
|
15
|
Marian (Ind.)
|
252
|
|
17
|
20
|
Mount Mercy (Iowa)
|
243
|
|
18
|
14
|
Webber International (Fla.)
|
229
|
|
19
|
19
|
The Master's (Calif.)
|
193
|
|
20
|
18
|
Faulkner (Ala.)
|
189
|
|
21
|
23
|
Taylor (Ind.)
|
137
|
|
21
|
22
|
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)
|
137
|
|
23
|
24
|
Oklahoma Wesleyan
|
136
|
|
24
|
21
|
Oregon Tech
|
125
|
|
25
|
NR
|
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
|
113
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dropped from the Top 25: No. 25 Thomas (Ga.).
Others receiving votes: Thomas (Ga.) 96, Reinhardt (Ga.) 45, St. Thomas (Fla.) 41, Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 39, St. Gregory's (Okla.) 26, William Jessup (Calif.) 26, Cumberland (Tenn.) 22, Mobile (Ala.) 21, Warner (Fla.) 10, Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 9, Bellevue (Neb.) 9, St. Ambrose (Iowa) 4, Northwestern (Iowa) 3