(Monday, October 27; Sioux Center, Iowa) The Dordt Defender women's basketball team holds the No. 1 spot in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll released late last week ahead of the 2025–26 season.
The Defenders opened the year with a win Friday night against Viterbo (Wisconsin) and now have two weeks to prepare for a pair of local games in Orange City at a classic hosted by Northwestern on Friday and Saturday, November 7 and 8.
Dordt earned all 20 first-place votes after also being selected as the GPAC preseason favorite the previous week. The Defenders begin conference play on Saturday, November 15, at Mount Marty and host their home opener on November 19 against Northwestern.
Dordt's 2025–26 schedule features 11 games against teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the poll: Dakota State (No. 4), Dakota Wesleyan (No. 9), Hastings (No. 12), MidAmerica Nazarene (No. 13), Briar Cliff (No. 20), Grand View (RV), and Morningside (RV).
Full Poll
| RANK |
2024-25 FINAL POLL |
INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] |
2024-25 RECORD |
POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Dordt (Iowa) [20] |
35-2 |
600 |
| 2 |
16 |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
27-8 |
560 |
| 3 |
3 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
28-4 |
543 |
| 4 |
8 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
25-5 |
474 |
| 5 |
12 |
Marian (Ind.) |
27-8 |
471 |
| 6 |
7 |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
28-6 |
444 |
| 7 |
25 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
26-7 |
411 |
| 8 |
9 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
25-8 |
410 |
| 9 |
13 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
25-7 |
382 |
| 10 |
4 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
34-3 |
369 |
| 11 |
17 |
Langston (Okla.) |
31-3 |
359 |
| 12 |
18 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
25-8 |
332 |
| 13 |
10 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
28-4 |
308 |
| 14 |
23 |
Oregon Tech |
23-8 |
281 |
| 15 |
2 |
Southern Oregon |
34-1 |
279 |
| 16 |
RV |
Carroll (Mont.) |
19-12 |
259 |
| 17 |
RV |
Indiana Tech |
27-6 |
248 |
| 18 |
14 |
Arizona Christian |
25-6 |
211 |
| 19 |
RV |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
25-8 |
209 |
| 20 |
5 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
30-6 |
191 |
| 21 |
RV |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
20-11 |
172 |
| 22 |
25 |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
27-4 |
168 |
| 23 |
RV |
Shawnee State (Ohio) |
28-5 |
146 |
| 24 |
NR |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
16-14 |
144 |
| 25 |
5 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
26-6 |
140 |
Dropped from Top 25: Georgetown (Ky.), William Carey (Miss.), Rio Grande (Ohio), Wayland Baptist (Texas), Providence (Mont.), Xavier (La.), Mid-America Christian (Okla.)
Receiving Votes: Governors State (Ill.) 98, Loyola (La.) 94, Rio Grande (Ohio) 81, Georgetown (Ky.) 69, Providence (Mont.) 69, Florida Memorial 60, Pikeville (Ky.) 49, Columbia (Mo.) 34, Xavier (La.) 31, Southeastern (Fla.) 25, Montana Tech 19, Grand View (Iowa) 18, Evangel (Mo.) 17, William Carey (Miss.) 15, Huntington (Ind.) 15, College of Idaho 14, Wayland Baptist (Texas) 11, LSU Alexandria (La.) 10, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 8, Morningside (Iowa) 6, Milligan (Tenn.) 4, Friends (Kan.) 4, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 3, Williams Baptist (Ark.) 2, Hope International (Calif.) 2
