KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The first regular-season edition of the 2026
GoRout NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25 Poll was released on Wednesday afternoon, and for the first time since the 2005 preseason poll, the Marian baseball team is featured among the NAIA's best.
The Knights come in as a receiving votes team in their first entry to the rankings this season, collecting three votes from the national voters. Marian, who is off to their best start in recent history with a 9-3 record and 4-0 Crossroads League start, snaps a 21-season drought since last being featured in the rankings. The Knights' last mention in the poll came on November 17, 2004, when the Knights were ranked No. 21 in the 2005 preseason poll.
Marian is one of three Crossroads League teams featured, with Taylor moving from ninth to third in the nation, while Huntington vaulted from unranked to No. 24. The Knights play the Foresters next weekend in Indianapolis, and Taylor on the final weekend of the regular season. The Knights also have games lined up with two other teams in the rankings, playing a home-and-home with No. 25 Oakland City, in addition to hosting (RV) Indiana Tech.
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.
- The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.
- Teams receiving only one point are not listed as "receiving votes."
- For the Preseason Poll, there is no "previous ranking" column since it is the initial poll and differs from the prior rating system.
Marian travels to Goshen this weekend, playing at 1 p.m. on Friday and Sunday. The Saturday games in the series have been pushed to Sunday due to weather forecasts.
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