National Champion North Georgia Unanimous No. 1 in Final 2015 NFCA Division II Poll

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Coming off a run to its first national championship, North Georgia completed its historical campaign as the unanimous choice for No. 1 in the final NFCA Division II Poll of 2015.

 

Ranked in the top 10 for the majority of the season, the Nighthawks (54-8) received all 16 possible first-place votes after working their way through the NCAA Division II loser’s bracket and taking home their athletic program’s first national title. After being no-hit in its opener, UNG won its final five games, including a 5-0 victory over Dixie State in the championship game.

The Nighthawks finished 16 points ahead of the national runner-up Red Storm (52-8). Dixie State concluded its season with the furthest run at the championship and a No. 2 national ranking.

The remainder of the national top eight consisted of this year’s participants at the Division II Softball Championship. National semifinalists, Shorter (43-17) and California (Pa.) (43-13) held down the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively. Indianapolis (48-15), St. Mary’s (Texas) (48-12), Adelphi (31-22) and Central Missouri (49-16) round out the top eight.

Missouri-St. Louis and Georgia College finished out the season in the top 10 after making appearances in the Super Regionals. The Tritons (48-8) fell in a hard fought three-game series to Indianapolis and the Bobcats (47-11) were defeated by the eventual national champions.

New to the top-25 for the first time this season are two more Super Regional participants, Florida Tech (38-20) and Tarleton State (33-22) at 19^th and 22^nd, respectively. Adelphi and No. 20 Sonoma State return to the rankings.

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 – June 2, 2015 (Final)

Rank

Team

2015 Record

Totals

Prev. Rank

1

North Georgia (16)

54-8

400

6

2

Dixie State

52-8

384

4

3

Shorter

43-17

357

24

4

California (Pa.)

43-13

347

21

5

Indianapolis

48-15

331

10

6

St. Mary’s (Texas)

48-12

324

7

7

Adelphi

31-22

296

NR

8

Central Missouri

49-16

293

20

9

Missouri-St. Louis

48-8

275

1

10

Georgia College

47-11

235

8

11

Augustana (S.D.)

53-11

200

9

12

Valdosta State

48-9

196

2

13

West Texas A&M

45-11

182

3

14

Cal State Monterey Bay

47-12

170

5

15

Southern New Hampshire

35-9

168

15

16

West Virginia Wesleyan

38-10

149

22

17

California Baptist

42-11

125

11

18

Alabama-Huntsville

40-16

111

12

19

Florida Tech

38-20

110

RV

20

Sonoma State

42-21

108

RV

21

Caldwell

37-14-1

81

14

22

Tarleton State

33-22

79

NR

23

Winona State

46-14

72

13

24

North Alabama

38-14

53

19

25

Southern Indiana

39-11

49

17

Dropped Out: No. 16 Humboldt State, No. 18 Metro State, No. 23 Ashland, No. 25 Anderson (S.C.)

New to Poll: No. 7 Adelphi, No. 19 Florida Tech, No. 20 Sonoma State, No. 22 Tarleton State

Others Receiving Votes: Metro State (47), Humboldt State (40), Ashland (13), Anderson (4), Carson-Newman (1).