KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NAIA released its preseason top 25 coaches polls for the upcoming men's and women's basketball seasons Wednesday, and Carroll College leads the Frontier Conference's representation in both polls.
Carroll's women are ranked in a tie for No. 4 with Campbellsville (Ky.), each with 505 voting points. The Saints finished 27-8 last season and qualified for the NAIA national tournament.
Elsewhere, Montana Western is picked 23rd in the women's poll with 174 points while Rocky is 25th with 142 points.
Western finished last season with a 15-14 mark and was an at-large bid to the national tournament. Rocky, meanwhile, went 29-5, won both the regular-season and postseason championships in the Frontier and advanced to the Round of 8 at the NAIA tourney before falling to eventual national champion Thomas More (Ky.)
Thomas More earned the top ranking in the poll with 19 first-place votes and 590 points. Westmont (Calif.) received two first-place votes and is ranked No. 2 with 570 points. Morningside (Iowa) is No. 3 with 515 points.
In the men's poll, Carroll came in at No. 16, the highest ranking of the Frontier teams. The Saints, who went 29-5 las season and advanced to the NAIA tourney, received 237 voting points.
Montana Tech, the Frontier's defending postseason tournament champion, is ranked 23rd with 124 points. The Orediggers went 27-7 a year ago and defeated Carroll in a thriller in the league title game, 62-61. Tech got an automatic berth into the NAIA tourney.
Arizona Christian received 15 first-place votes and is No. 1 in the poll with 553 points. Other first-place votes went to No. 2 Thomas More (3, 521 points), No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan (1) and No. 7 William Penn of Iowa (1).
The College of Idaho, with 513 points, came in ranked No. 3 in the men's poll.
