KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NAIA released the results of the first official 2023 Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, and Eastern Oregon came in at No. 21. The Mountaineers slid back a couple spots from their preseason ranking of No. 19.
 
Eastern has gotten off to a strong start going 12-6 to open the season along with a 4-0 opening weekend. Most recently the Mounties dropped a tough series to the now No. 9 ranked Raiders of Southern Oregon University. EOU was able to take one game in the four-game series.
 
The Mountaineers will look to return to their winning ways this weekend when they hit the road to take on the University of British Columbia in another conference series. The Thunderbirds are currently 7-3 overall and 2-1 in CCC action. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
 
Poll Methodology

• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents).
• 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.
• The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team's ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
• Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered "receiving votes"
• The frequency of the polls is bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) prior to the 2016-17 academic season. This change allows raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work between rating periods.
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.