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Photo courtesy NAIA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Oregon Tech was a unanimous choice for the top spot in the NAIA Preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll for the second consecutive year as the Lady Owls received all 19 first-place votes.
Defending national champion Southern Oregon was second in the poll followed by Cumberlands (Ky.), Georgia Gwinnett, and Marian (Ind.) to round out the top five.
The College of Science & Arts of Oklahoma was sixth in the poll, while Our Lady of the Lake, Central Methodist, Oklahoma City and Midland round out the top 10.
It marked the third time in Oregon Tech history the Lady Owls have topped the preseason poll as they also began the season in the top spot in 2012 in addition to the last two seasons.
The Lady Owls, coming off a school-record 54-win season, advanced to the NAIA national championship game in 2023 before losing to Southern Oregon.
Oregon Tech returns its entire pitching staff, including All-Americans Kacie Schmidt and McKenzie Staub, in addition to returning seven position players.
Defending national champion Southern Oregon finished second in the preseason poll, which marks the sixth consecutive year in which the Raiders have been ranked in the top 10 in the preseason poll.
The Raiders return 12 players from last year’s team and three-time NAIA Coach of the Year Jessica Pistole signed 11 newcomers.
Cumberlands was ranked third in the preseason poll, which marks the highest preseason ranking in school history.
The Patriots finished the 2023 season with a 49-5-1 record, earning 40 wins for the second time in the program’s history. Head coach Bailey Dillender led Cumberlands on a program-setting postseason run, which included a Mid-South Conference regular season and tournament championship and was capped with a third-place finish at the NAIA World Series.
Building off last season’s NAIA World Series appearance, Georgia Gwinnett begins the 2024 season ranked fourth in the preseason poll.
The Grizzlies, led by head coach Kat Ihlenburg, posted a 45-12 record in a 2023 season that included the Continental Athletic Conference tournament championship and an appearance in the NAIA World Series for the first time since 2019.
Georgia Gwinnett will be led by junior Annalise Jarvis, the reigning NAIA National Pitcher of the Year, who finished the 2023 season with a 23-3 record and a 0.92 earned run average.
Marian is ranked fifth in the preseason poll following a historic 2023 campaign.
The Knights ended the year with a record of 52-9 and won the Crossroads League regular season tournament titles. Marian won a NAIA opening round title with a 4-1 record to secure a spot in the NAIA World Series.
The Knights finished the postseason with a 7-3 record and established a program record for NAIA Tournament victories.
The top 25 poll is voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences.
NAIA Preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Oregon Tech [19] | 54-10 | 529 |
| 2 | 4 | Southern Oregon | 50-12 | 506 |
| 3 | 3 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 49-5-1 | 491 |
| 4 | 8 | Georgia Gwinnett | 45-12 | 452 |
| 5 | 9 | Marian (Ind.) | 52-9 | 450 |
| 6 | 10 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 42-15 | 449 |
| 7 | 2 | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | 51-8 | 431 |
| 8 | 15 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 42-12 | 403 |
| 9 | 5 | Oklahoma City | 48-11 | 389 |
| 10 | RV | Midland (Neb.) | 41-15 | 377 |
| 11 | 7 | Baker (Kan.) | 47-12 | 354 |
| 12 | 13 | Mobile (Ala.) | 40-15 | 347 |
| 13 | 6 | College of Idaho | 49-10 | 344 |
| 14 | 16 | Indiana Wesleyan | 40-15 | 301 |
| 15 | 12 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 47-10 | 280 |
| 16 | 16 | Middle Georgia State | 43-14 | 263 |
| 17 | 14 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 42-11 | 261 |
| 18 | 18 | Coastal Georgia | 42-12 | 241 |
| 19 | 23 | Hope International (Calif.) | 41-16 | 183 |
| 20 | 21 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 27-15 | 178 |
| 21 | RV | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 37-13 | 161 |
| 22 | 20 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 33-18 | 159 |
| 23 | 22 | William Carey (Miss.) | 39-14 | 157 |
| 24 | NR | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 37-14 | 113 |
| 24 | 24 | Eastern Oregon | 33-19 | 113 |
Receiving Votes:Â Campbellsville (Ky.) 96, Bellevue (Neb.) 60, Truett McConnell (Ga.) 60, Grand View (Iowa) 52, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 43, Concordia (Mich.) 41, Friends (Kan.) 36, Indiana Southeast 22, Madonna (Mich.) 21, Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 21, Arizona Christian 9, Indiana Tech 7, St. Francis (Ill.) 6, Mount Mercy (Iowa) 5
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