By: SOU Sports Information
ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon University softball team ended yet another successful spring at No. 5 in the postseason NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll.
The Raiders went 45-15 overall, won their first Cascade Conference Tournament championship in six years, and swept through the NAIA Opening Round to reach their eighth World Series in nine years. Entering the final day of their season, they'd won 16 consecutive games (including eight of the postseason variety) with a combined run differential of 118-23.
The Raiders were never ranked lower than No. 6 all year. They've been included in the final polls published each of the last 10 years and among the top-six in eight of those.
Madonna (Mich.) earned the top spot by capturing its first national championship with an unbeaten showing at the World Series.
Four other CCC teams were in the poll: No. 7 College of Idaho, No. 9 British Columbia, No. 12 Oregon Tech and No. 13 Eastern Oregon. OIT and EOU, the first- and second-place finishers in the conference regular season standings, were the only ones of the bunch to not advance to the World Series.
The Raiders will undoubtedly start 2027 in a similar spot. They're only slated to lose two starters, both to graduation.
| RANK |
LAST |
SCHOOL [1st-place votes] |
RECORD |
POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Madonna (Mich.) [14] |
52-4 |
390 |
| 2 |
3 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
51-10 |
377 |
| 3 |
11 |
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
47-13 |
358 |
| 4 |
23 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
43-15 |
342 |
| 5 |
T-6 |
Southern Oregon |
45-15 |
332 |
| 6 |
13 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
40-18 |
330 |
| 7 |
RV |
College of Idaho |
38-22 |
273 |
| 8 |
17 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
40-21 |
271 |
| 9 |
RV |
British Columbia |
32-24 |
265 |
| 10 |
22 |
Marian (Ind.) |
38-18 |
258 |
| 11 |
5 |
Oklahoma City |
50-9 |
235 |
| 12 |
2 |
Oregon Tech |
43-10 |
230 |
| 13 |
T-6 |
Eastern Oregon |
40-13 |
222 |
| 14 |
4 |
Science and Arts (Okla.) |
48-11 |
208 |
| 15 |
9 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
46-10 |
197 |
| 16 |
12 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
41-14 |
172 |
| 17 |
10 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
42-8 |
149 |
| 17 |
15 |
LSU Alexandria (La.) |
37-18 |
149 |
| 19 |
20 |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
40-17 |
140 |
| 20 |
8 |
Missouri Baptist |
40-14 |
129 |
| 21 |
14 |
Evangel (Mo.) |
44-11 |
111 |
| 22 |
25 |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
37-16 |
105 |
| 23 |
16 |
Grand View (Iowa) |
38-18 |
89 |
| 24 |
21 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
43-14 |
83 |
| 25 |
19 |
Texas A&M-Texarkana |
38-16 |
79 |
| Dropped from Top 25: Coastal Georgia and Midland (Neb.) |
| Receiving Votes: Coastal Georgia 58; Midland (Neb.) 51; Dordt (Iowa) 50; Indiana Tech 38; Benedictine (Kan.) 22; Johnson (Tenn.) 16; Georgia Gwinnett 13; Campbellsville (Ky.) 8; Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) 7; St. Thomas (Fla.) 6; Morningside (Iowa) 4; Saint Francis (Ind.) 4; Tennessee Southern 4 |
