- West Texas A&M remains #1 in the NFCA Division II poll with a 10-1 record and 13 first place votes, extending their record streak at the top of the rankings to 52 weeks. - Valdosta State stays at #2 with an 11-2 start, while Cal State Monterey Bay rises to #3 going 7-0. - St. Mary's (TX) jumps from 16th to 4th after a near perfect 10-1 start including a win over then #1 West Texas A&M. - Four new teams enter the top 25 this week including #13 Central Oklahoma, #18 Arkansas Tech, #19 Georgia College, and #25 Metro

1. National Fastpitch Coaches Association
Contact: Brian Stanley, NFCA Director of Media Relations,
502-409-4600, brian@nfca.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Near Perfect Start Keeps West Texas A&M’s Atop 2015 NFCA Division II Poll
February 18, 2014
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – West Texas A&M’s 10-1 start through the first three weeks of the season keeps the
Lady Buffs atop the 2015 NFCA Division II Poll that was released by the Association on Wednesday. With
several upsets and strong starts to the season, the first regular season poll saw a lot of teams moving up and
down the ladder as well as the addition of some new faces.
West Texas A&M received 13 of 14 possible first place votes and totaled 349 points, 21 ahead of Valdosta
State (328 points), which remained in the second position. Following a third place (5-1) finish at the 2015
NFCA Leadoff Classic where they suffered their only loss (then No. 16 St Mary’s), the Lady Buffs put on a
dominant performance at their WT Woodward Invitation. In a tournament that featured matchups between
the Lone Star and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conferences, WT went 6-0 and outscored its opponents 61-9.
It marks the 52nd
straight week (358 days) that the Lady Buffs have been atop of the poll dating back to
February 26, 2014, the run passes the Valdosta State reign atop of the rankings from March 28, 2012 to
March 13, 2013 (51 weeks – 351 days) as the longest in recent history.
Valdosta State continued its hold on the second spot with an 11-2 start. The Blazers’ season featured a
spotless 4-0 showing at the Flagler Tournament, a 4-1 record at Georgia College’s Bobcat Blast, a
doubleheader sweep at Albany State and taking two of three from Shorter in a Gulf South road series.
The next three spots featured teams that were ranked 10th
-16th
and the top 10 has a total of four programs. In
addition, four more squads enter the top 25 that were not ranked during the preseason.
Coming in at No. 3 in Cal State Monterey Bay (314 points). The Otters opened the season 7-0, including a
5-0 mark at the Desert Stinger Classic. CSUMB swept Hawaii-Hilo in its season opener and then behind an
offensive explosion posted its perfect mark at the Desert Stinger, outscoring opponents 53-8 and earning
hard fought win over then-No. 3 Dixie State, 4-2/
Making the second biggest move amongst ranked team was St. Mary’s (Texas), jumping from 16th
to fourth
after a near perfect start, winning their first 10 games of the season. Receiving the other first place vote
(282 points), the Rattlers (10-1) claimed the NFCA Leadoff Classic title, which included a wins over No. 1
West Texas A&M (7-1), then-No. 4 Southeastern Oklahoma State (10-3) and Central Oklahoma in the title
game (10-9). They followed that with a 4-1 showing at the Southeastern Oklahoma Regional Invitational,
again defeating the Savage Storm (3-0).
An 8-1 start has Missouri-St. Louis (274 points) moving from 13th
to fifth. The Tritons (8-1) posted a 5-1
mark at the NFCA Leadoff Classic and went 3-0 last weekend at a weather shortened 8 State Classic hosted
by Arkansas Monticello. UMSL’s offensive is producing seven runs per game and has hit 21 home runs.
West Chester comes in at No 6 and opens its season this weekend at the Shaw Tournament in Raleigh, N.C.
where it will face No. 21 West Virginia Wesleyan (0-0). Angelo State (11-1) won its first 11 games of the
season and enters the top 10 at No. 7. Rounding out the top 10 is LIU Post (0-0), Alabama Huntsville (8-3)
and North Georgia (7-3).
Behind two road wins over then-No. 8 Armstrong State and another road triumph at then No. 9 North
Georgia, Wingate (6-2) made the biggest climb, moving from No. 25 to No. 11.
No. 13 Central Oklahoma (4-2), after a runner-up finish at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, leads the list of four
newcomers. Also new to the poll this week are No. 18 Arkansas Tech (4-0), No. 19 Georgia College (11-3)
and No. 25 Metro State (8-4).

2. The 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. 2015 records and previous week’s rankings are shown with
first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division II Softball Poll – February 18, 2015
Rank Team 2015
Record
Totals Previous
Ranking
1 West Texas A&M 10-1 349 1
2 Valdosta State 11-2 328 2
3 Cal State Monterey Bay 7-0 314 10
4 St. Mary's (TX) 10-1 282 16
5 Missouri-St. Louis 8-1 274 13
6 West Chester 0-0 250 6
7 Angelo State 11-1 235 11
8 LIU Post 0-0 234 7
9 Alabama-Huntsville 8-3 232 12
10 North Georgia 7-3 210 9
11 Wingate 6-2 208 25
12 Dixie State 6-5 192 3
13 Central Oklahoma 4-2 189 RV
14 Tampa 6-1 164 17
15 Wayne State (MI) 3-3 157 5
16 Caldwell 0-0 130 15
17 Emporia State 3-1 102 18
18 Arkansas Tech 4-0 89
19 Georgia College 11-3 77
20 Humboldt State 3-4 68 19
21 West Virginia Wesleyan 0-0 58 20
22 Indianapolis 3-3 57 21
23 Augustana (SD) 3-2 52 14
24 Southeastern Oklahoma St. 4-7 37 4
25 Metro State
Winona State
8-4
9-2
35
35 22
Dropped Out of Previous Poll: No. 8 Armstrong State (6-2), No. 23 Cal Baptist (9-3), No. 24 California
(Pa.) (0-0).
Others Receiving Votes: Armstrong State (32), California Baptist (31), Rollins (31), Lenoir Rhyne (29),
California (Pa.) (21), North Alabama (17), Southern New Hampshire (6), Southern Indiana (6), UC San
Diego (4), Arkansas Monticello (4).
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