GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Fresh off a championship season, the North Park Baseball team was recognized by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) as one of the top teams to watch in Division III Baseball, receiving votes in the organization's first poll of 2025. The Vikings were the only team from the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) to receive any votes.
The Vikings finished the 2024 season as the league co-champs and earned the top seed for the CCIW Tournament. NPU concluded their championship year with a 30-13 record and Coach Luke Johnson, the CCIW Co-Coach of the Year, led NPU to a program best 16-4 finish in CCIW play.
| 2025 NCAA Division III Preseason Coaches Poll |
| January 28, 2025 |
| Rank |
School (First-Place Votes) |
2024 Record |
Points |
| 1. |
Wisconsin-Whitewater (9) |
45-12 |
698 |
| 2. |
Endicott (Mass.) (6) |
47-4 |
667 |
| 3. |
Salve Regina (R.I.) (1) |
40-10 |
632 |
| 4. |
Denison (Ohio) (3) |
42-8 |
617 |
| 5. |
Misericordia (Pa.) (11) |
44-11 |
586 |
| 6. |
Johns Hopkins (Md.) |
35-11 |
566 |
| 7. |
Lynchburg (Va.) |
37-17 |
554 |
| 7. |
Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) |
37-14 |
554 |
| 9. |
East Texas Baptist |
39-10 |
538 |
| 10. |
Salisbury (Md.) |
32-12 |
515 |
| 11. |
Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) |
33-11 |
479 |
| 12. |
Wisconsin-La Crosse |
36-16 |
459 |
| 13. |
Randolph-Macon (Va.) |
33-16 |
446 |
| 14. |
Christopher Newport (Va.) |
29-12 |
389 |
| 15. |
Trinity (Texas) |
32-15 |
361 |
| 16. |
La Verne (Calif.) |
30-16-1 |
324 |
| 17. |
Case Western Reserve (Ohio) |
33-11 |
294 |
| 18. |
Adrian (Mich.) |
33-16 |
267 |
| 19. |
Cortland (N.Y.) |
31-14-1 |
235 |
| 20. |
North Carolina Wesleyan |
36-13 |
233 |
| 21. |
Penn State-Harrisburg |
35-11 |
181 |
| 22. |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) |
32-15 |
177 |
| 23. |
Rowan (N.J.) |
29-15 |
156 |
| 24. |
Aurora (Ill.) |
34-11 |
121 |
| 25. |
Centre (Ky.) |
36-13 |
112 |
| 26. |
Transylvania (Ky.) |
34-14 |
93 |
| 27. |
Benedictine (Ill.) |
33-14 |
92 |
| 28. |
Cal Lutheran |
29-16 |
82 |
| 29. |
Arcadia (Pa.) |
33-14 |
81 |
| 30. |
Babson (Mass.) |
30-13 |
78 |
|
Receiving Votes:Â Eastern Connecticut State 68, Spalding (Ky.) 58, Ithaca (N.Y.) 50, Mitchell (Conn.) 47, Middlebury (Vt.) 43, Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) 35, Rhodes (Tenn.) 33, Catholic (D.C.) 31, Coe (Iowa) 28, Keystone (Pa.) 23, Messiah (Pa.) 20, Chapman (Calif). 18, TCNJ 17, Elizabethtown (Pa.) 14, Ramapo (N.J.) 14, NYU 11, Whitworth (Wash.) 9, Wheaton (Mass.) 7, Union (N.Y.) 6, Alvernia (Pa.) 5, LaGrange (Ga.) 5, Montclair State (N.J.) 5, Willamette (Ore.) 5, Webster (Mo.) 4, Marietta (Ohio) 3, Marymount (Va.) 3, Berry (Ga.) 2, Hanover (Ind.) 2, North Park (Ill.) 2, Shenandoah (Va.) 2, Colby (Maine) 1, Johnson & Wales (R.I.) 1, Linfield (Ore.) 1
Stay tuned for the 2025 North Park Baseball Preview, set to be released on Feb. 7.
