LOUISVILLE, Ky. – North Georgia is the unanimous No. 1 team in the final 2023 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll following the program’s run to a NCAA Division II National Championship. The NightHawks (64-7), who were consistently ranked in the top three all regular season, put together a 10-1 postseason record as they won their second Division II crown.
As the Southeast’s No. 1 program, UNG swept through regional and super regional play and headed to Chattanooga as the No. 3 overall seed. The NightHawks, who set a program-record with 64 wins, posted wins over sixth-seed East Stroudsburg and second-seeded Central Oklahoma, setting up a semifinal against No. 1 seed UT Tyler. After dropping the first game, UNG shut out the Patriots and went on to sweep Grand Valley State in the Championship Series.
National runner-up Grand Valley State comes in at No. 2. The Lakers 47-8 went undefeated in their eight games of postseason before falling to the NightHawks. GVSU swept its regional and went on the road to the Midwest’s top seed Indianapolis and knocked off the Greyhounds in a pair of tightly-contested games. At the Championship, the No. 5 overall seed trumped No. 4 seed Wilmington, 10-2, before winning consecutive one-run games versus UT Tyler and Central Oklahoma.
National semifinalist UT Tyler and Central Oklahoma followed at No. 3 and No. 4. The Patriots (62-6) entered the National Championship as the No. 1 overall seed and recorded a 3-2 mark, completing the postseason at 8-2. UT Tyler set a program record for victories, posted a Division II best 37-game winning streak and finished 2023 with the division’s highest winning percentage (.912).
The Bronchos (54-9) also set a school record for wins, while double dipping with the MIAA regular season and tournament titles. UCO, the No. 2 overall seed, registered a 7-3 postseason record as it swept the Central 1 Regional and rallied from a game-one defeat to top Southern Arkansas in Super Regionals.
The four newcomers to the National Championship finals site - East Stroudsburg, Nova Southeastern, Cal State San Marcos and Wilmington make up fifth through eighth.
The Warriors (44-19), who set a program record for wins, swept through regionals as the Atlantic’s No. 1 seed and rallied to defeat Charleston 2-1 in Super Regionals before picking up a victory over Wilmington at the National Championships. As the South’s No. 3 seed, the Sharks (43-16) swept the Saint Leo Regional and edged top-seeded Tampa in Super Regionals. In the process, they reached the 40-win plateau for the first time since 2010.
The Cougars (33-21) posted a 1-2 mark at the Championship with a triumph over Nova Southeastern. San Marcos came out of the West Region as the No. 6 seed, sweeping through regionals and super regionals at the No. 2 (Sonoma State) and No. 1 seed’s (Concordia) home venues. Wilmington captured its second straight Central Atlantic Athletic Conference title and set a program record with 44 wins. The Wildcats (44-16) swept through Regionals as the No. 2 seed and went to Adelphi and took the Super Regional in three games.
A pair of Super Regional finalists – No. 9 Tampa and No. 10 Indianapolis - round out the top 10. The Spartans (44-5), who were ranked No. 1 the final four weeks of the season, fell to Nova Southeastern in three games at home, while the Greyhounds (53-10) were edged at home by national runner-up Grand Valley State.
The 2023 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by the NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll Committee. The committee consists of 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the NCAA’s eight regions.
2023 NFCA Division II Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
June 6 (Final)
|
Rank |
School |
Points |
2023 Record |
Previous Ranking |
|
1 |
North Georgia (16) |
400 |
64-7 |
1 |
|
2 |
Grand Valley State |
384 |
47-8 |
8 |
|
3 |
UT Tyler |
368 |
62-6 |
3 |
|
4 |
Central Oklahoma |
352 |
54-9 |
4 |
|
5 |
East Stroudsburg |
321 |
44-19 |
RV |
|
6 |
Nova Southeastern |
307 |
43-16 |
RV |
|
7 |
Cal State San Marcos |
300 |
33-21 |
NR |
|
8 |
Wilmington |
294 |
44-16 |
24 |
|
9 |
Tampa |
263 |
44-5 |
1 |
|
10 |
Indianapolis |
248 |
53-10 |
6 |
|
11 |
West Texas A&M |
247 |
50-8 |
9 |
|
12 |
UAH |
216 |
46-11 |
5 |
|
13 |
Adelphi |
175 |
47-8 |
12 |
|
14 |
Colorado Christian |
174 |
57-6 |
7 |
|
15 |
Concordia |
168 |
48-13 |
11 |
|
16 |
Saint Leo |
164 |
43-12 |
10 |
|
17 |
Southern Arkansas |
140 |
45-15 |
RV |
|
18 |
Wingate |
133 |
48-17 |
17 |
|
19 |
Charleston |
128 |
45-12 |
19 |
|
20 |
Rogers State |
118 |
45-14 |
14 |
|
21 |
Mississippi College |
69 |
43-12 |
15 |
|
21 |
Missouri Southern |
69 |
41-15 |
13 |
|
23 |
Oklahoma Christian |
46 |
38-17 |
23 |
|
24 |
Columbus State |
43 |
46-16 |
21 |
|
25 |
Harding |
22 |
46-14 |
18 |
New to Poll: No. 5 East Stroudsburg, No. 6 Nova Southeastern, No. 7 Cal State San Marcos, No. 17 Southern Arkansas
Dropped Out: No. 16 Sonoma State, No. 20 West Alabama, No. 22 Oklahoma Baptist, No. 25 Lenoir-Rhyne.
Receiving Votes: West Alabama (21), Northwest Nazarene (8), Sonoma State (8), Oklahoma Baptist (6), Lenoir-Rhyne (5), Shippensburg (2), Lubbock Christian (1).
The 2023 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by the NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll Committee. The committee consists of 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the NCAA’s eight regions.
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