Lindsey Wilson leads four MSC teams ranked in latest NAIA rating

10/15/2025 5:55:22 PM

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), despite dropping their last two matches, hung on to a top-five placement and landed just ahead of the Cumberlands (Ky.) Patriots  in the newest NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll, NAIA officials announced on Wednesday.

Lindsey Wilson sits just ahead of the #6 University of the Cumberlands who were responsible for the Blue Raiders’ most recent loss, 1-0. Before that, the #13 Cumberland (Tenn.) Phoenix defeated Lindsey Wilson, 3-2.

For the Patriots since the prior poll, they tied with #15 Georgia Gwinnett and (RV) Union Commonwealth (Ky.), 1-1 and 0-0, respectively.

The Cumberland Phoenix are the first Mid-South Conference team to reach double-digit wins with their 10-1-3 record. In the past two weeks, the team has put together two wins and a tie, outscoring their opponents 7-2 in that time.

The #18 Bethel (Tenn.) Wildcats proved to be the biggest movers, jumping up six spots from #24. Bethel remains undefeated, having bested the #15 Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies and are, most recently, responsible for the Phoenix’s aforementioned tie.

Oklahoma Wesleyan was the new team atop the poll with 501 voting points. MidAmerica Nazarene shifted up two spots to second with their 482 voting points. Bethel (Ind.) was third (466 points) and Keiser (Fla.) landed fourth (452 points).

The fifth NAIA Men's Soccer Top 25 Poll is scheduled to be released in two weeks on Wednesday, October 29.

Poll Methodology

  • The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration.

  • A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll.

  • The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system: 30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on.

  • For the Preseason Poll, there is no "previous ranking" column since it is the initial poll and differs from the prior rating system. 

  • Teams receiving only one point are not listed as “receiving votes.”

  • The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.