KANSAS CITY, Missouri - In the first regular-season edition, Talladega College is ranked No. 15th, and Dillard University No. 25th in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. Other HBCUs receiving votes from the panel were
Xavier University of Louisiana and Huston-Tillotson University.
Vanguard (Calif.) locked in the No. 1 spot for the second time in a row in the 2018-19 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):
- Vanguard has opened the season with an unblemished record of 7-0.
- The Lions are one of the top three schools that have been ranked No. 1 the longest in NAIA history and are working their way up one poll at a time only seven behind the current leader.
- New to the poll this week: No. 15 Talladega (Ala.), No. 20 William Penn (Iowa), No. 23 Baker (Kan.) and No. 25 Dillard (La.)
- Oklahoma City holds the longest active streak in the Top 25 with 247 total appearances dating back to 1997-98 school year.
- Union (Tenn.) and Vanguard (Calif.) are the only programs to have spent an entire season ranked No. 1 (Union: 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11) (Vanguard: 2005-06, 2006-07).
- Union (Tenn.) leads all NAIA school with 53 No. 1 rankings. Oklahoma City is second with 50 and Vanguard (Calif.) is third with 46.
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions 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 team appears on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes.”
- The frequency of polls occurs bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) for the 2016-17 academic season. This change will allow raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work in between rating periods.
- For the complete rating calendar, click here.
2018-19 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 1 (Dec. 4)
| RANK | WEEK | SCHOOL [FIRST PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Vanguard (Calif.) [7] | 7-0 | 218 |
| 2 | 5 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) [2] | 9-0 | 213 |
| 3 | 6 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 6-0 | 201 |
| 4 | 4 | Columbia (Mo.) | 8-1 | 200 |
| 5 | 3 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 6-1 | 194 |
| 6 | 12 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 9-1 | 183 |
| 7 | 2 | Shawnee State (Ohio) | 8-2 | 176 |
| 8 | 7 | Carroll (Mont.) | 6-2 | 173 |
| 9 | 9 | Montana Western | 4-0 | 160 |
| 10 | 10 | Oklahoma City | 8-1 | 150 |
| 11 | 8 | Westmont (Calif.) | 6-2 | 148 |
| 12 | 15 | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | 5-1 | 147 |
| 13 | 18 | Providence (Mont.) | 7-2 | 133 |
| 14 | 16 | Menlo (Calif.) | 7-0 | 132 |
| 15 | NR | Talladega (Ala.) | 10-1 | 119 |
| 16 | 21 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 9-2 | 114 |
| 17 | 13 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 6-3 | 101 |
| 18 | 24 | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 8-1 | 98 |
| 19 | 20 | Lyon (Ark.) | 6-1 | 95 |
| 20 | NR | William Penn (Iowa) | 8-1 | 93 |
| 21 | 22 | Arizona Christian | 6-4 | 77 |
| 22 | 14 | The Master's (Calif.) | 5-3 | 76 |
| 23 | NR | Baker (Kan.) | 10-1 | 67 |
| 24 | 11 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 6-3 | 59 |
| 25 | NR | Dillard (La.) | 8-3 | 40 |
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Others receiving votes: Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 39, William Woods (Mo.) 32, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 31, LSU Alexandria (La.) 15, Clarke (Iowa) 10, Xavier (La.) 10, Huston-Tillotson (Texas) 9, William Jessup (Calif.) 6, Faulkner (Ala.) 3, Georgetown (Ky.) 3
