MILLIGAN, Tenn. – On Thursday, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) unveiled the 2025 NAIA Men's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Rating. The poll listed the Milligan men's cross country squad as the second-ranked program in the nation after their runner-up finish at the 2024 NAIA National Championships in Columbia, Mo.

The Buffs earned a total of 486 points in the rating, finishing just 10 points shy of The Master's (Calif.). 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. The highest and lowest ratings for each team are removed. The rating is rated by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated groupings.

The full ratings are listed below:
 

RANK	INSTITUTION	POINTS
1	The Master's (Calif.)	496
2	Milligan (Tenn.)	486
3	Taylor (Ind.)	471
4	Cumberlands (Ky.)	465
5	Marian (Ind.)	421
6	Spring Arbor (Mich.)	409
7	College of Idaho	382
8	Indiana Wesleyan	365
9	Corban (Ore.)	363
10	Saint Mary (Kan.)	338
11	Eastern Oregon	333
12	Carroll (Mont.)	331
13	Indiana-East	324
14	Doane (Neb.)	307
15	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	254
16	Aquinas (Mich.)	238
17	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	230
18	Dordt (Iowa)	219
T-19	Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)	177
T-19	Montreat (N.C.)	177
21	Goshen (Ind.)	113
22	Southern Oregon	112
23	Kansas Wesleyan	110
24	Shawnee State (Ohio)	107
25	Rio Grande (Ohio)	100

Receiving Votes: St. Francis (Ill.) 93, Trinity Western (B.C.) 84, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 68, Mount Mercy (Iowa) 31, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 30, Cornerstone (Mich.) 16, Tennessee Southern 15, Columbia (Mo.) 8, SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) 8, Indiana Tech 6, Montana Tech 6, SCAD Savannah (Ga.) 5, Bellevue (Neb.) 2.