KANSAS CITY, Mo. – On Wednesday, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) made their 2025-26 Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll public, as the Milligan University women's basketball squad received votes in the announcement.
The Buffaloes received four votes in the preliminary rating. They come into 2025-26 following their deepest run in the NAIA Tournament since 1998-99 and their first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament championship since the inception of the conference in 2000-01.
A pair of road contests against stiff competition begin the Buffaloes' campaign. They face No. 24-ranked Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) on Oct. 30 and No. 25-ranked University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) on Oct. 31, with both games being played in Williamsburg, Ky. on Cumberlands' campus.
The full poll is listed below:
|
RANK
|
24-25
FINAL
|
INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] |
2024-25 RECORD |
POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Dordt (Iowa) [20] |
35-2 |
600 |
| 2 |
16 |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
27-8 |
560 |
| 3 |
3 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
28-4 |
543 |
| 4 |
8 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
25-5 |
474 |
| 5 |
12 |
Marian (Ind.) |
27-8 |
471 |
| 6 |
7 |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
28-6 |
444 |
| 7 |
25 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
26-7 |
411 |
| 8 |
9 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
25-8 |
410 |
| 9 |
13 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
25-7 |
382 |
| 10 |
4 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
34-3 |
369 |
| 11 |
17 |
Langston (Okla.) |
31-3 |
359 |
| 12 |
18 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
25-8 |
332 |
| 13 |
10 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
28-4 |
308 |
| 14 |
23 |
Oregon Tech |
23-8 |
281 |
| 15 |
2 |
Southern Oregon |
34-1 |
279 |
| 16 |
RV |
Carroll (Mont.) |
19-12 |
259 |
| 17 |
RV |
Indiana Tech |
27-6 |
248 |
| 18 |
14 |
Arizona Christian |
25-6 |
211 |
| 19 |
RV |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
25-8 |
209 |
| 20 |
5 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
30-6 |
191 |
| 21 |
RV |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
20-11 |
172 |
| 22 |
25 |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
27-4 |
168 |
| 23 |
RV |
Shawnee State (Ohio) |
28-5 |
146 |
| 24 |
NR |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
16-14 |
144 |
| 25 |
5 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
26-6 |
140 |
Dropped from Top 25: Georgetown (Ky.), William Carey (Miss.), Rio Grande (Ohio), Wayland Baptist (Texas), Providence (Mont.), Xavier (La.), Mid-America Christian (Okla.)
Receiving Votes: Governors State (Ill.) 98, Loyola (La.) 94, Rio Grande (Ohio) 81, Georgetown (Ky.) 69, Providence (Mont.) 69, Florida Memorial 60, Pikeville (Ky.) 49, Columbia (Mo.) 34, Xavier (La.) 31, Southeastern (Fla.) 25, Montana Tech 19, Grand View (Iowa) 18, Evangel (Mo.) 17, William Carey (Miss.) 15, Huntington (Ind.) 15, College of Idaho 14, Wayland Baptist (Texas) 11, LSU Alexandria (La.) 10, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 8, Morningside (Iowa) 6, Milligan (Tenn.) 4, Friends (Kan.) 4, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 3, Williams Baptist (Ark.) 2, Hope International (Calif.) 2
