KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The sixth NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll has everyone but No. 4 Ave Maria (Fla.) on the move. Not only do we have a new No. 1 in Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), but we also see five new teams climb into the top 25 in Huntington (Ind.) who took down at the time No. 1 and current No. 2 Grace (Ind.); Morningside (Iowa) who clinched the first automatic bid into the 2026 NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament last weekend; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.), and Shawnee State (Ohio).
The Langston University men's basketball team moved up to eighth in the sixth edition of the NAIA Men's Basketball Top 25 Poll with 377 points. The Lions are currently 19-5 overall and 14-4 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Under head coach Chris Wright, the Lions have been ranked in 21 straight NAIA Top-25 polls dating back to November 2022.
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:
o 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.
To view the complete Top 25 Poll, click here
