KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After being picked last week to win a second straight Frontier Conference title, the Southern Oregon University football team checked in at No. 4 in the NAIA Top 25 preseason coaches' poll that was released Monday by the national office.
 

SOU Preseason Rankings (Since 1997)

Year	Rank	Finish
2000	12th	5-4
2001	t-14th	9-2
2002	4th	8-3
2003	5th	5-4
2013	14th	7-4
2014	22nd	13-2
2015	t-1st	11-3
2016	2nd	5-6
2017	25th	12-1
2018	4th	--

The Raiders were included in the poll – in the same spot they ended 2017 – for the sixth consecutive season, a stretch that was preceded by a 10-year absence in the preseason edition. They'll start as a top-four team for the third time in four years.
 
Defending NAIA champion Saint Francis (Ind.), which ran the table last year, claimed the top spot again with all 16 first-place votes.
 
The Frontier's only other Top 25 representative is Rocky Mountain (Mont.), which is in the No. 20 slot after being picked to finish second in the conference preseason poll. Montana Tech and The College of Idaho both received votes, and the former was the first team out.
 
Each of the top five teams – Saint Francis, Reinhardt (Ga.), Morningside (Iowa), SOU and Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) – were unbeaten during the 2017 regular season.
 
Coming off a 12-1 campaign, the Raiders will open 2018 at Eastern Oregon on Sept. 1. The first poll of the regular season will be released following SOU's second game and home-opener against The College of Idaho on Sept. 8.
 
The Raiders will hold their first full-squad practice on Saturday.
 

2018 NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Preseason (August 6, 2018)

RANK	PREVIOUS	SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES)	RECORD	POINTS
1	1	Saint Francis (Ind.) (16)	14-0	366
2	2	Reinhardt (Ga.)	12-1	349
3	3	Morningside (Iowa)	13-1	340
4	4	Southern Oregon	12-1	324
5	5	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	11-1	310
6	6	Saint Xavier (Ill.)	10-2	296
7	7	Georgetown (Ky.)	9-2	268
7	8	Northwestern (Iowa)	10-3	268
9	9	Baker (Kan.)	10-2	259
10	11	Grand View (Iowa)	9-3	231
11	10	Southeastern (Fla.)	8-2	227
12	12	Benedictine (Kan.)	9-3	197
13	14	Dickinson State (N.D.)	9-2	178
14	13	Langston (Okla.)	10-1	177
15	18	Marian (Ind.)	7-3	167
16	15	Concordia (Mich.)	9-2	163
17	16	Sterling (Kan.)	9-3	159
18	17	Tabor (Kan.)	8-2	95
19	20	Campbellsville (Ky.)	8-2	86
20	NR	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	6-5	75
21	21	Kansas Wesleyan	8-3	67
22	19	SAGU (Texas)	8-3	51
22	NR	Arizona Christian	7-3	51
24	22	Faulkner (Ala.)	7-3	46
25	23	Dakota State (S.D.)	8-3	44

 
Dropped from the Top 25: Oklahoma Panhandle State, Evangel (Mo.)
Others Receiving Votes: Montana Tech (44), Evangel (Mo.) (17), Oklahoma Panhandle State (15), St. Francis (Ill.) (12), College of Idaho (10), William Penn (Iowa) (10), Missouri Valley (9), Midland (Neb.) (8), Bluefield (Va.) 3