TWU, Reinhardt Open Season in NAIA Top 25; Bryan Garners Votes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Three Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) teams received votes in the preseason 2024 NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
The NAIA announced the poll on Wednesday.
Tennessee Wesleyan leads the way as the Bulldogs collected 467 voting points to land at No. 6.
Reinhardt entered the top 25 at No. 23 with 161 voting points.
Meanwhile, Bryan sits three spots outside the top 25 with 84 voting points.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Continental Athletic Conference (Independents), and Unaffiliated Groups.
- 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 rating) 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 appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered "receiving votes."
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Southeastern (Fla.) [18] | 58-6 | 559 |
| 2 | 3 | Georgia Gwinnett | 50-8 | 511 |
| 3 | RV | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) [2] | 37-18 | 509 |
| 4 | 8 | William Carey (Miss.) | 49-11 | 499 |
| 5 | 2 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 47-10 | 481 |
| 6 | 4 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 43-11 | 457 |
| 7 | 5 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 48-10 | 448 |
| 8 | 6 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 49-9 | 445 |
| 9 | 19 | Taylor (Ind.) | 42-17 | 438 |
| 10 | 11 | Missouri Baptist | 42-9 | 378 |
| 11 | 10 | Hope International (Calif.) | 33-11 | 373 |
| 12 | 9 | Webber International (Fla.) | 40-17 | 360 |
| 13 | NR | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 39-17 | 319 |
| 14 | RV | Indiana Wesleyan | 41-20 | 280 |
| 15 | 17 | Ave Maria (Fla.) | 36-18 | 264 |
| 16 | 16 | Kansas Wesleyan | 44-15 | 253 |
| 17 | 15 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 35-18 | 226 |
| 18 | 12 | Mobile (Ala.) | 35-15 | 221 |
| 19 | 13 | Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) | 44-14 | 208 |
| 20 | RV | Point Park (Pa.) | 39-15 | 205 |
| 21 | 14 | Texas Wesleyan | 37-16 | 201 |
| 22 | 25 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 36-19 | 187 |
| 23 | RV | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 33-18 | 161 |
| 24 | RV | Concordia (Mich.) | 48-10 | 142 |
| 25 | RV | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 40-21 | 118 |
Receiving Votes: Science & Arts (Okla.) 104; Doane (Neb.) 100; Bryan (Tenn.) 84; Columbia (Mo.) 69; St. Thomas (Fla.) 60; Concordia (Neb.) 55; Loyola (La.) 45; British Columbia 44; Cumberland (Tenn.) 31; Oklahoma City 30; The Master's (Calif.) 18; Arizona Christian 15; Tabor (Kan.) 8; Oregon Tech 8; Midway (Ky.) 6; McPherson (Kan.) 3; Middle Georgia State 3