KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) uncovered the 2025 NAIA Women's Cross Country Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Rating. The poll named the Milligan women's cross country squad as the second-best program in the nation after their fourth-place showing at the 2024 NAIA National Championships in Columbia, Mo.
The MU squad was afforded 488 points in the rating, trailing only Taylor (Ind.), who were runners-up last season. 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:
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| RANK |
INSTITUTION Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
                               POINTS |
| 1 |
Taylor (Ind.) |
                               507 |
| 2 |
Milligan (Tenn.) |
                               488 |
| 3 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
                               475 |
| 4 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
                               436 |
| 5 |
Saint Mary (Kan.) |
                               434 |
| 6 |
Marian (Ind.) |
                               407 |
| 7 |
Grace (Ind.) |
                               382 |
| 8 |
SCAD Savannah (Ga.) |
                               380 |
| 9 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
                               364 |
| 10 |
Montreat (N.C.) |
                359 |
| 11 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
                              342 |
| 12 |
College of Idaho |
                                329 |
| 13 |
Kansas Wesleyan |
                                307 |
| 14 |
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
                                305 |
| 15 |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
                                271 |
| 16 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
                                252 |
| 17 |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
                                216 |
| 18 |
SCAD Atlanta (Ga.) |
                                212 |
| 19 |
Southern Oregon |
                                201 |
| 20 |
Eastern Oregon |
                                170 |
| 21 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
                                132 |
| 22 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
                                123 |
| 23 |
Montana Tech |
                                121 |
| 24 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
                                87 |
| 25 |
Oklahoma City |
                                86 |
Receiving Votes:Â Benedictine (Kan.) 79, Mount Mercy (Iowa) 77, Saint Francis (Ind.) 65, Rio Grande (Ohio) 46, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 15, Huntington (Ind.) 11, Saint Mary (Neb.) 11, Indiana Tech 8, Dakota State (S.D.) 7, Doane (Neb.) 6, Shawnee State (Ohio) 5, William Carey (Miss.) 5, John Brown (Ark.) 3, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 3.
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