Southeastern Athletics
Andrew New, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Southeastern University baseball team has been tabbed as the top squad heading into the 2021 season, as the Fire were voted No. 1 in the NAIA Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll.
The Fire went 26-1 in the shortened 2020 season, ending the year on a program-record 25-game win streak which SEU will bring into the new season.
Junior shortstop Sam Faith is the top offensive returner for Southeastern after hitting .455 with six doubles, five home runs, and 25 runs batted in last year.
Junior right-handed pitcher Bryce Mulcahy is also back for the Fire after going 5-0 with a 2.31 Earned Run Average, 45 strikeouts, and a .174 opponent batting average in 35 innings of work in 2020.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
Fellow Sun Conference members St. Thomas and Keiser landed in the Top 25, coming in at No. 4 and 15 respectively. Webber International was receiving votes in the national ranking.
Be sure to follow @SEUFireBaseball on Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest updates on Fire baseball!
2021 NAIA Baseball Coaches’ Top 25 Preseason Poll (November 4, 2020)
| RANK | LAST YEAR | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | 2020 RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Southeastern (Fla.) [17] | 26-1 | 528 |
| 2 | 2 | Science & Arts (Okla.) [2] | 18-1 | 510 |
| 3 | 3 | Georgia Gwinnett | 23-2 | 497 |
| 4 | 4 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 19-5 | 467 |
| 5 | 5 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 16-6 | 462 |
| 6 | 6 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 22-4 | 434 |
| 7 | 8 | Faulkner (Ala.) | 18-4 | 428 |
| 8 | 7 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 22-3 | 425 |
| 9 | 9 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 17-5 | 394 |
| 10 | 10 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 16-5 | 364 |
| 11 | 12 | Indiana Southeast (Ind.) | 18-1 | 358 |
| 12 | 11 | Indiana Tech | 11-5 | 323 |
| 13 | 17 | Westmont (Calif.) | 18-9 | 311 |
| 14 | 13 | Lyon (Ark.) | 20-6 | 300 |
| 15 | 15 | Keiser (Fla.) | 19-6 | 292 |
| 16 | 18 | Oklahoma City | 17-8 | 257 |
| 17 | 23 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 18-7 | 253 |
| 18 | 14 | Vanguard (Calif.) | 21-6 | 241 |
| 19 | 19 | Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) | 22-7 | 235 |
| 20 | 20 | Mobile (Ala.) | 17-6 | 200 |
| 21 | 16 | Bryan (Tenn.) | 14-6 | 168 |
| 22 | 21 | Middle Georgia State | 17-8 | 151 |
| 23 | 24 | Hope International (Calif.) | 18-8 | 145 |
| 24 | RV | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 15-5 | 144 |
| 25 | 25 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 15-6 | 96 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio)
Others Receiving Votes: Taylor (Ind.) 93, Texas Wesleyan 78, Campbellsville (Ky.) 69, Tabor (Kan.) 65, Webber International (Fla.) 45, Concordia (Neb.) 20, Bellevue (Neb.) 19, Columbia (Mo.) 18, IU Kokomo (Ind.) 9, Wayland Baptist (Texas) 8, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 8, Clarke (Iowa) 7, Point (Ga.) 6.