AAC Puts 5 in NAIA Top 10; Two Others Receive Votes
(Story provided by NAIA Athletic Communications)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The 2026 NAIA Men's Lacrosse season is finally here with the release of the preseason coaches' top 10 poll. Keiser capped off an excellent season in 2025, claiming the first red banner of the sports championship era within the NAIA. The Defending national champions were the unanimous No. 1 choice as they look to defend their title in 2026. Cumberlands made it to the national championship game last season, but is still hunting for the red banner as the Patriots open a new year at No. 2.
Webber International and Reinhardt are also in the top five, while Life landed at No. 8.
In all, the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) is represented by seven schools, as SCAD Savannah and Tennessee Wesleyan received votes.
| RANK | INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | 2025 RECORD | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Keiser (Fla.) [5] | 15-1 | 60 |
| 2 | 
|
Cumberlands (Ky.) | 13-5 | 51 |
| 2 | 
|
Madonna (Mich.) | 14-6 | 51 |
| 4 | 
|
Webber International (Fla.) | 13-3 | 45 |
| 5 | 
|
Reinhardt (Ga.) | 11-3 | 43 |
| 6 | 
|
Indiana Tech | 13-4 | 40 |
| 7 | 
|
William Penn (Iowa) | 12-4 | 33 |
| 8 | 
|
Aquinas (Mich.) | 11-5 | 28 |
| 8 | 
|
Life (Ga.) | 4-5 | 28 |
| 10 | 
|
Lawrence Tech (Mich.) | 9-5 | 15 |
| 10 | 
|
Taylor (Ind.) | 7-8 | 15 |
| Receiving Votes: Benedictine (Kan.) 11; SCAD Savannah (Ga.) 8; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 6; Michigan-Dearborn 4; Tennessee Wesleyan 4 | ||||
Key:
RV - Receiving Votes | NR - Not Ranked | Climbed -▲ |Dropped -▼ | Steady - ●
Poll Methodology
- The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration.
- A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll.
- The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system:
- 30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on.
- The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.
- Teams receiving only one point are not listed as "receiving votes."
- For the Preseason Poll, there is no "previous ranking" column since it is the initial poll and differs from the prior rating system.