SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (Thursday, February 12, 2026) – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics has released the latest NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, and the Dordt Defenders remain the No. 1 team in the nation.

The Defenders improved to 24-1 overall following a dominant 98-71 victory over Briar Cliff on Wednesday night, February 11. Dordt has now won 16 consecutive games since its only setback of the season on December 6. With an 18-1 mark in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), the Defenders maintain a one-game lead over Dakota Wesleyan in the conference standings.

Dordt will host Midland on Saturday, February 14, in its final regular-season home game at the DeWitt Gymnasium. The Defenders then hit the road for a high-stakes matchup against Dakota Wesleyan on Wednesday, February 18, before concluding the regular season at Waldorf the following Saturday.

In the latest balloting, Dordt garnered 533 total points and 15 first-place votes. Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) remains at No. 2 with 516 points and four first-place votes. Fellow GPAC members Dakota Wesleyan (No. 9) and Concordia (No. 11) are also featured in the Top 25, while Briar Cliff and Hastings are among the teams receiving votes.
 

RANK	LAST TIME	INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES]	RECORD	POINTS
1	1	Dordt (Iowa) [15]	23-1	533
2	2	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) [4]	22-2	516
3	3	Bethel (Tenn.)	22-3	508
4	5	Marian (Ind.)	22-2	459
5	4	Campbellsville (Ky.)	20-4	448
6	7	Dakota State (S.D.)	21-3	428
7	6	Saint Francis (Ind.)	22-2	427
8	8	Rio Grande (Ohio)	23-1	406
9	9	Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)	20-4	387
10	11	MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)	19-3	319
11	10	Concordia (Neb.)	19-5	316
12	12	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	18-6	308
13	24	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	20-4	306
14	15	Eastern Oregon	21-3	265
15	17	Evangel (Mo.)	20-2	241
16	18	Spring Arbor (Mich.)	20-4	220
17	13	Montana Tech	18-4	219
18	14	William Carey (Miss.)	20-2	165
19	RV	Loyola (La.)	20-2	164
20	RV	Langston (Okla.)	22-2	134
21	15	Cumberlands (Ky.)	17-8	131
22	20	Friends (Kan.)	20-4	121
23	23	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	16-8	103
24	25	Indiana Tech	20-4	80
25	RV	Carroll (Mont.)	16-8	75

 
Dropped from the Top 25: Corban (Ore.), Briar Cliff (Iowa), St. Francis (Ill.)
Receiving Votes: Corban (Ore.) 73, Briar Cliff (Iowa) 69, Southeastern (Fla.) 66, Southern Oregon 65, St. Francis (Ill.) 62, Hastings (Neb.) 59, LSU Shreveport (La.) 50, Tennessee Southern 46, Huntington (Ind.) 39, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 37, Georgetown (Ky.) 31, Columbia (Mo.) 24, Montana State-Northern 14, Taylor (Ind.) 13, Benedictine (Kan.) 10, Oregon Tech 6, Cumberland (Tenn.) 3, The College of Idaho 2, Grand View (Iowa) 2, Indiana Wesleyan 2
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.