LOUISVILLE, KY. - The University of Texas at Tyler softball team dropped a pair of spots to no. 4 in the latest 2023 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll as announced by the organization on Tuesday afternoon.
The Patriots received 358 total votes after dropping their first Lone Star Conference series of the year last weekend on the road at (RV) Angelo State to move to 14-3 on the year. Rogers State, the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, stayed as the unanimous no. 1 top choice while North Georgia (15-1) and Tampa (8-0) moved ahead of UT Tyler in the no. 2 and no. 3 slots.
The 2023 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.
UT Tyler slipped to 7-2 in LSC play on the heels of the 2-1 series loss against Angelo State that concluded a week of softball in which the Patriots notched a 4-2 record after a sweep of Cameron on Tuesday and Wednesday. Head coach
Mike Reed and his team currently spot a 5-3 record against teams associated with the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Lone Star Conference was represented by four teams within the top 25 including UT Tyler (no. 4), Lubbock Christian (no. 7), West Texas A&M (no. 22) and St. Mary's (no. 25), and an additional two teams in the receiving votes category in Oklahoma Christian and Angelo State.
The Patriots held the no. 1 spot in 13 out of the 14 regular season NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches polls in 2022, and unanimously sat atop the poll in eight of those weeks. They entered the 2023 NFCA Division II Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll in the no. 3 spot.
UT Tyler began this week's play on Tuesday afternoon with 3-0 and 5-1 wins over Southeastern Oklahoma State in doubleheader action at Irwin Ballpark.
#4 UT Tyler and #22 West Texas A&M will highlight this weekend's action across the Lone Star Conference will a battle between the top two standing teams in the LSC in Tyler. UT Tyler enters the weekend in second in the regular season standings with a 7-2 mark in LSC play, while West Texas A&M is a perfect 15-0 on the year and 6-0 in league play.
That series will get started with a doubleheader on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., and a single game on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
| Rank |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1 |
Rogers State (16) |
12-1 |
400 |
1 |
| 2 |
North Georgia |
15-1 |
381 |
3 |
| 3 |
Tampa |
8-0 |
361 |
4 |
| 4 |
UT Tyler |
14-3 |
358 |
2 |
| 5 |
Cal State San Marcos |
10-3 |
330 |
6 |
| 6 |
Southern Arkansas |
15-2 |
319 |
7 |
| 7 |
Lubbock Christian |
16-4 |
285 |
9 |
| 8 |
Grand Valley State |
5-0 |
262 |
12 |
| 9 |
Central Oklahoma |
8-3 |
241 |
10 |
| 10 |
Seton Hill |
4-2 |
235 |
5 |
| 11 |
Indianapolis |
12-2 |
234 |
14 |
|
UAH |
14-3 |
234 |
17 |
| 13 |
Valdosta State |
11-3 |
228 |
8 |
| 14 |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
10-5 |
213 |
13 |
| 15 |
Adelphi |
8-3 |
206 |
11 |
| 16 |
Anderson (S.C.) |
16-4 |
177 |
15 |
| 17 |
Concordia |
14-4 |
152 |
16 |
| 18 |
Washburn |
15-3 |
100 |
20 |
| 19 |
Sonoma State |
13-1 |
88 |
22 |
| 20 |
Colorado Christian |
18-2 |
87 |
|
| 21 |
Lenoir-Rhyne |
15-1 |
79 |
23 |
| 22 |
West Texas A&M |
15-0 |
61 |
|
| 23 |
Saint Leo |
13-1 |
46 |
|
| 24 |
Wilmington |
4-2 |
35 |
25 |
| 25 |
St. Mary's |
14-5 |
25 |
21 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:
Oklahoma Christian (19), Harding (17), Nova Southeastern (16), Wingate (5), Oklahoma Baptist (3), Angelo State (1), Carson-Newman (1), Illinois-Springfield (1).
DROPPED OUT:
No. 18 Lincoln Memorial, No. 19 Oklahoma Christian, No. 24 Nova Southeastern
