Kansas City, Mo. - The Central Methodist baseball program moved to No. 9 in the third edition of the NAIA Baseball Coaches Top 25 poll, released by the national office Wednesday.
The only other Heart program featured in the national poll is (RV) Clarke University. Central boasts an overall record of 27-6 and a 13-3 mark in conference play, good enough to sit in first place in the Heart standings.
Junior shortstop Robbie Merced leads the nation in runs batted in (63) and is tied No. 1 nationally in home runs (20), with the latter matching the program's single-season record. Sophomore outfielder Bobby Nichols is No. 2 in the nation with 36 stolen bases.
Central is set to face Mount Mercy University for a four-game series beginning Saturday, April 9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
To view the poll methodology and the complete Top 25 poll, please see below.
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 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"
- The frequency of the polls is bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) prior to the 2016-17 academic season. This change allows raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work between rating periods.
- For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
| RANK | LAST | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | CONFERENCE | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Southeastern (Fla.) [19] | The Sun | 34-1 | 529 |
| 2 | 2 | Tennessee Wesleyan | Appalachian | 36-2 | 512 |
| 3 | 4 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | Red River | 33-2 | 487 |
| 4 | 3 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | Cascade | 35-3 | 477 |
| 5 | 5 | Oklahoma City | Sooner | 30-3 | 469 |
| 6 | 6 | Westmont (Calif.) | GSAC | 35-6 | 441 |
| 7 | 10 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | The Sun | 28-6 | 416 |
| 8 | 9 | Vanguard (Calif.) | GSAC | 35-8 | 392 |
| 9 | 7 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | Heart | 27-6 | 382 |
| 10 | 11 | Bellevue (Neb.) | North Star | 24-8 | 376 |
| 11 | 8 | Georgia Gwinnett | Continental | 24-9 | 368 |
| 12 | 14 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | Sooner | 21-8 | 348 |
| 13 | 19 | McPherson (Kan.) | KCAC | 26-7 | 306 |
| 14 | 15 | Hope International (Calif.) | GSAC | 31-10 | 298 |
| 15 | 18 | Warner (Fla.) | The Sun | 31-9 | 295 |
| 16 | 21 | Faulkner (Ala.) | Southern States | 22-10 | 264 |
| 17 | 12 | Ottawa (Kan.) | KCAC | 27-5 | 253 |
| 18 | 13 | Webber International (Fla.) | The Sun | 30-11 | 244 |
| 19 | 17 | Indiana Southeast (Ind.) | River States | 22-10 | 239 |
| 20 | 20 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | Mid-South | 25-10 | 195 |
| 21 | 16 | Middle Georgia State | Southern States | 23-9-1 | 186 |
| 22 | 23 | Tabor (Kan.) | KCAC | 26-8-1 | 121 |
| 23 | NR | University of Northwestern Ohio | Wolverine-Hoosier | 18-8 | 107 |
| 24 | NR | Reinhardt (Ga.) | Appalachian | 25-14 | 98 |
| 25 | NR | Taylor (Ind.) | Crossroads | 24-10 | 90 |
Others Receiving Votes: Keiser (Fla.) 87; Concordia (Neb.) 78; Cumberland (Tenn.) 70; Point Park (Pa.) 69; William Carey (Miss.) 44; Cumberlands (Ky.) 30; Columbia (Mo.) 26; Doane (Neb.) 24; Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 22; Clarke (Iowa) 14; Loyola (La.) 8; St. Andrews (N.C.) 8; Lyon (Ark.) 6; Georgetown (Ky.) 6; Arizona Christian 3
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