LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As the Anderson University softball team prepares for a second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament next week, the Trojans have climbed back into the latest weekly National Fastpitch Coaches (NFCA) Division II softball poll at No. 16, as released Wednesday morning.

Joining Anderson in the poll from the South Atlantic Conference is Lenoir-Rhyne at No. 24, as the Bears slipped from the 12th spot after dropping two contests in the SAC Tournament. The Trojans were ranked 21st in the initial preseason poll and steadily climbed as high as 14th in early March, but fell from the rankings after dropping four of six contests midway through the campaign. Fellow SAC-member Wingate, which was eliminated from the league tournament by the Trojans, is currently receiving votes in the poll.

Fresh off winning its first outright Lone Star Conference regular season title and extending its program-best winning streak to 23 games, West Texas A&M (50-4) held on to the unanimous position at No. 1 in the April 30 edition of the poll.

The Lady Buffs again earned all 16 possible first-place votes following a weekend that saw WT A&M sweep four slugfests from then-No. 7 Angelo State, win the league crown and finish the season unbeaten at home in Schaeffer Park at 29-0.

Alabama-Huntsville (39-7) remained in the No. 2 spot after completing its regular season with 4-0 and 6-2 victories over West Alabama. The Chargers now enter the Gulf South Conference tournament as the top-seed while boasting a five-game winning skein.

Cal State Monterey Bay (44-7) earned three razor-thin triumphs versus Cal State San Bernardino (2-1, 3-0, 2-1) to nab the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season title and hold steady at third in the national rankings.

Despite being idle, North Georgia (43-9) advanced one position to No. 4, while Minnesota State Mankato continued its race up the polls, climbing from eighth to fifth. The Mavericks managed a 5-1 record during the week with sweeps of both Sioux Falls and St. Cloud State and a split against Minnesota Duluth that proved enough to earn the program its third consecutive Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular-season crown.

Humboldt State (43-13) held down sixth, while Tampa (31-6) and Caldwell (39-5) both advanced a pair of slots to Nos. 7 and 8, respectively. This week's biggest mover within the top 10 proved to be Indianapolis (39-9), however, as the Greyhounds skyrocketed eight positions from 17th to ninth after concluding its Great Lakes Valley Conference season as the top-seed for the league's upcoming tournament. Angelo State (37-14) dropped three spots to No. 10 following its aforementioned four-game sweep at the hands of top-ranked West Texas A&M.

Former No. 25 Texas Woman's (33-16) was the lone squad to fall from this week's poll, which opened the door for AU.

The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. Current 2014 records are shown and first-place votes are in parentheses.

NFCA Division II Softball Poll - April 30, 2014

Rank Team 2014
Record Totals Last Poll
1 West Texas A&M (16) 50-4 400 1
2 Alabama-Huntsville 39-7 373 2
3 Cal St. Monterey Bay 44-7 353 3
4 North Georgia 43-9 344 5
5 Minnesota St. Mankato 41-9 294 8
6 Humboldt State 43-13 289 6
7 Tampa 31-6 280 9
8 Caldwell 39-5 271 10
9 Indianapolis 39-9 267 17
10 Angelo State 37-14 254 7
11 Missouri-St. Louis 41-6 232 4
12 California (Pa.) 29-4 226 14
13 Emporia State 43-10 218 13
14 Dixie State 44-8 176 15
15 St. Mary's (TX) 43-12 161 11
16 Anderson (SC) 42-10 152 RV
17 LIU Post 41-7 136 16
18 Winona State 40-6 134 20
19 Armstrong Atl. State 30-12 121 18
20 Valdosta State 36-12 110 19
21 West Va. Wesleyan 38-10 80 23
22 Truman State 40-9 79 22
23 California Baptist 41-11 75 21
24 Lenoir-Rhyne 39-13 46 12
25 Augustana (SD) 40-11 34 24

Dropped Out of Poll: No. 25 Texas Woman's (33-16).

Others Receiving Votes: Texas Woman's (31), Rollins (21), UC San Diego (12), North Alabama (5), Wayne State (MI) (5), West Chester (5), Central Oklahoma (3), New Haven (3), Western Washington (3), Bellarmine (2), St. Edward's (2), Wingate (2), Central Washington (1).