LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Following a runner-up finish in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, the Anderson University softball team slipped one spot to No. 24 in the most recent NFCA Division II Top-25 Poll, as released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Wednesday.

The Trojans finished 39-13 and await their NCAA tournament fate, which will be unveiled Monday morning.

Anderson is the lone representative from the South Atlantic Conference in the rankings and remained one of three teams from the NCAA's Southeast Region. North Georgia stayed steady in the sixth spot in the poll, while Georgia College remained eighth. Fellow SAC-member Catawba earned votes in the poll after winning the SAC Tournament title last weekend, while the Peach Belt Conference's Armstrong State also received votes in this week's poll.

Receiving 15 first-place votes, Valdosta State was nearly unanimous as it ran its hold on the No. 1 spot to six weeks in the poll.

The Blazers (46-5) wrapped up their regular season taking two of three from Mississippi College (1-0 / 1-5 / 1-0). VSU, which claimed the Gulf South regular season title, is hosting the 2015 Gulf South Tournament Championship, April 30-May 2 at Steels Diamond in Valdosta, Ga. Also competing in the tournament will be No. 11 Alabama-Huntsville, No. 16 North Alabama and RV Shorter.

Sliding up to No. 2 this week is Missouri-St. Louis, which received the other first-place vote and 374 points. It is the highest ranking for the Tritons (39-5) this season following a Great Lakes Valley (GLVC) split with Bellarmine (4-1 / 3-8 in 8 inn.) last week. UMSL claimed the top seed for the GLVC Championship Tournament, which is being held May 1-3 at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Ill. for the 11th straight year. No. 10 Indianapolis and No. 13 Southern Indiana are the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively.

Following a 3-3 week, West Texas A&M dropped to No. 3 and is not ranked No. 1 or No. 2 since the 2014 Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Lady Buffs (42-9) opened the week with a nonconference sweep of UT Permian Basin (9-0 / 10-1), but fell at home in their final Lone Star series to Texas Woman's (10-13 / 9-5 / 2-4/ 10-11). WT is hosting the 2015 LSC Championship on May 1 and 2, which also features No. 22 Angelo State and RV Cameron.

Dixie State and Cal State Monterey Bay round out the top five. The Red Storm (42-7) swept Azuza Pacific in their final PacWest series, while the Otters (44-10) took three-of-four from No. 15 Humboldt State to earn the CCAA regular season title. Dixie State claimed the PacWest regular season championship, its first outright title in program history and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

CSUMB captured its second straight Conference regular season title and will be the No. 1 seed at the four-team CCAA post-season tournament, May 1-3 at Arnaiz Stadium in Stockton, Calif.

The sixth-ranked North Georgia Nighthawks (44-7) defeated No. 8 Georgia College (42-9) in the Peach Belt Conference Championship to earn its conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. UNG was a perfect 3-0 in the single-elimination tournament.

No. 7 St. Mary's (40-8) swept St. Edward's (1-0 / 10-4 / 4-2) in its final Heartland regular season series to earn a share of the league's regular season crown and host the 2015 Heartland Conference Championship Tournament, April 30-May 2.

Moving back into the top-10 is Northern Sun regular season champion Augustana. The Vikings (47-7) will be the top seed at their 10-team tournament being held at Sherman Park in Sioux Falls, S.D. The field also includes No. 14 Winona State.

No. 23 Central Missouri and No. 25 West Chester make an appearance in the poll this week, while Emporia State and Adelphi drop out.

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. 2015 records and previous week's rankings are shown with first-place votes in parentheses.




NFCA Division II Softball Poll - April 29, 2015 (Games Played April 20-26)

Rank Team 2015 Record Totals Prev. Rank
1 Valdosta State (15) 46-5 397 1
2 Missouri-St. Louis (1) 39-5 374 3
3 West Texas A&M 42-9 364 2
4 Dixie State 42-7 360 4
5 Cal State Monterey Bay 44-10 334 5
6 North Georgia 44-7 323 6
7 St. Mary's (TX) 40-8 304 7
8 Georgia College 42-9 271 8
9 Augustana (S.D.) 47-7 268 11
10 Indianapolis 38-10 265 9
11 Alabama-Huntsville 37-12 238 10
12 California Baptist 40-9 214 16
13 Southern Indiana 36-6 196 15
14 Winona State 42-12 165 17
15 Humboldt State 39-15 152 12
16 North Alabama 32-10 146 14
17 Caldwell 29-11-1 145 18
18 Metro State 38-12 142 19
19 West Virginia Wesleyan 32-6 97 22
20 Ashland 36-6 83 21
21 Southern New Hampshire 29-6 75 24
22 Angelo State 33-14-1 68 13
23 Central Missouri 39-13 37 RV
24 Anderson 39-13 36 23
25 West Chester 38-12 31 RV

Dropped Out: No. 20 Emporia State, No. 25 Adelphi

New to Poll: No. 23 Central Missouri, No. 25 West Chester

Others Receiving Votes: Cameron (23), Emporia State (22), California Pa. (19), Sonoma State (16), Rollins (9), Adelphi (8), Armstrong State (8), Shorter (5), Cameron (3), Catawba (2).