KANSAS CITY, Mo. - On Wednesday, the Milligan University men's tennis team returned to the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Rating list as an institution who is receiving votes. It is the first time that the Buffs have been recognized in the rating since the preseason edition back in August of 2024. The rating was compiled by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated groupings. The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each rater rates the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place, 28 for third-place and so on through the list. Milligan received two votes this time around.
The release of the poll comes right before the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament gets under way on Thursday with a 10 a.m. start time for the No. 4-seeded Buffaloes against the fifth-seeded Montreat College Cavaliers in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Listed below is the full rating:
| RANK |
LAST TIME |
INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] |
RECORD |
FINAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Georgia Gwinnett [10] |
11-2 |
270 |
| 2 |
2 |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
11-2 |
261 |
| 3 |
3 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
13-0 |
252 |
| 4 |
4 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
6-2 |
240 |
| 5 |
5 |
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
16-1 |
233 |
| 6 |
5 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
9-3 |
229 |
| 7 |
7 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
10-3 |
216 |
| 8 |
8 |
Xavier (La.) |
11-7 |
205 |
| 9 |
9 |
Holy Cross (Ind.) |
8-2 |
195 |
| 10 |
11 |
SCAD Savannah (Ga.) |
10-5 |
189 |
| 11 |
10 |
Northwestern Ohio |
10-5 |
185 |
| 12 |
12 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
9-7 |
174 |
| 13 |
14 |
Grace (Ind.) |
16-1 |
156 |
| 14 |
13 |
Dillard (La.) |
11-10 |
155 |
| 15 |
15 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
13-6 |
147 |
| 16 |
16 |
Middle Georgia State |
8-5 |
135 |
| 17 |
17 |
William Woods (Mo.) |
8-4 |
120 |
| 18 |
18 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
17-1 |
116 |
| 19 |
20 |
Oakland City (Ind.) |
10-3 |
96 |
| 20 |
19 |
Huntington (Ind.) |
12-4 |
93 |
| 21 |
21 |
Tennessee Southern |
12-5 |
91 |
| 22 |
24 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
9-12 |
68 |
| 23 |
23 |
Union Commonwealth (Ky.) |
10-5 |
61 |
| 24 |
25 |
Loyola (La.) |
6-8 |
49 |
| 25 |
RV |
Marian (Ind.) |
10-12 |
40 |
Dropped from Top 25: Pikeville (Ky.)
Receiving Votes: Missouri Baptist 31, SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) 31, Ave Maria (Fla.) 26, Arizona Christian 22, Pikeville (Ky.) 14, Coastal Georgia 9, Ottawa (Kan.) 9, McPherson (Kan.) 5, Lawrence Tech (Mich.) 5, Mobile (Ala.) 4, Bethel (Ind.) 3, Milligan (Tenn.) 2
