Louisville, KY. - This morning the National Fastpitch Coaching Association (NFCA) voted on the 2021 NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll, and the Golden Rams found themselves ranked 23rd to start off the spring.
Â
West Chester posted a 12-3 overall mark last season, which was cut short by the coronavirus pandemic. The Golden Rams are the only Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference school to appear in the preseason rankings. In fact, West Chester and Saint Anselm are carrying the flag for all the northern schools in the poll. West Liberty, out of the Mountain East Conference, is the only other program in the Atlantic Region to be mentioned. They were among others receiving votes. Northern schools, Minnesota State and St. Cloud State (Minn.), are among others receiving votes as well.Â
Â
The Purple & Gold have fifth-year senior,
Bri Garber (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasberg) and senior
Jen Hanshaw (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) returning to the team. The Golden Rams also have seven of their eight starters coming back this spring to try and make a third straight trip to the Division II National Championship.
Â
The 2021 NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. In 2021, universities that are not competing will not be eligible for the poll.
Â
Southern Arkansas, which ended 2020 on a 16-game winning streak, is the No. 1 team in the 2021 NFCA Division II Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll. The Muleriders collected all 16 first-place votes and 400 points to start the season atop the rankings
Â
2021 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll
January 27 (Preseason)
| Rank |
School |
Points |
2020 Final Record |
2020 Final Ranking |
| 1 |
Southern Arkansas (16) |
400 |
22-2 |
1 |
| 2 |
North Georgia |
381 |
23-4 |
3 |
| 3 |
Augustana |
358 |
16-3 |
4 |
| 4 |
UT Tyler |
354 |
17-3 |
5 |
| 5 |
Angelo State |
318 |
19-6 |
7 |
| 6 |
Young Harris |
314 |
19-3 |
6 |
| 7 |
Saint Leo |
312 |
23-7 |
8 |
| 8 |
Rollins |
280 |
21-3 |
9 |
| 9 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
260 |
16-7 |
10 |
| 10 |
Trevecca Nazarene |
258 |
15-3 |
11 |
| 11 |
Concordia Irvine |
238 |
17-5 |
13 |
| 12 |
Valdosta State |
196 |
18-5 |
15 |
| 13 |
Oklahoma Christian |
179 |
21-5 |
16 |
| 14 |
Saint Anselm |
168 |
16-4 |
12 |
| 15 |
Winona State |
166 |
13-7 |
NR |
| 16 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
164 |
20-4 |
21 |
| 17 |
Southern Indiana |
141 |
15-4 |
19 |
| 18 |
Rogers State |
136 |
21-8 |
17 |
| 19 |
Lubbock Christian |
109 |
20-6 |
18 |
| 20 |
UAH |
101 |
15-8 |
25 |
| 21 |
Indianapolis |
86 |
14-5 |
RV |
| 22 |
Lincoln Memorial |
83 |
16-5 |
14 |
| 23 |
West Chester |
66 |
12-3 |
NR |
| 24 |
Tampa |
38 |
19-9 |
RV |
| 25 |
Grand Valley State |
23 |
13-3 |
RV |
Â
Receiving Votes:Â Minnesota State (18), West Liberty (18), Francis Marion (9), Metropolitan State University of Denver (9), Biola (8), St. Cloud State (5), Central Oklahoma (2), Texas A&M University-Kingsville (2).
Â
