Rankings Update: Conference Carolinas Continue Strong Presence in National and Regional Polls
GREENVILLE, S.C. – With winter sports postseason play around the corner and spring sports nearing conference play, Conference Carolinas programs continue to hold strong in both national and regional polls.
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association released their latest Division II Top 25 regular-season poll of the 2021-22 season and Barton improved one spot to No. 7 with 422 points. In the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Women’s Basketball poll, Barton is also No. 7 with 303 points. The WBCA poll is available here while the D2SIDA poll is
here.
In the latest edition of the National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 poll, UNC Pembroke climbed one spot to No. 8 with 278 points. In the D2SIDA Men’s Basketball poll UNC Pembroke remained at No. 9 with 264 points. The NABC poll can be found here while the D2SIDA poll can be found
here.
In the latest Off the Block Division II Men’s Volleyball Coaches Poll released this week, Mount Olive was ranked No. 6 with 61 points while Belmont Abbey was ranked tied for eighth with 28 points. North Greenville, Barton and Erskine each received votes. The Off the Block poll is available here.
The final NCAA Division II Coaches Rankings prior to the postseason was released this week and Newberry returned to the top 25 at No. 20 with 18 points and three ranked wrestlers. Six other South Atlantic Conference Carolinas programs received votes led by Belmont Abbey. King, UNC Pembroke, Lander, Limestone and Queens also received votes.
In the individual rankings, two student-athletes were ranked at 125 pounds in Nick Daggett of UNC Pembroke (eighth) and Evan Carrigan of Newberry (10th). Majid Corbett of Limestone was ranked 12th at 133 pounds, Christian Small of King (sixth) and Zeth Bower of Lander (10th) were ranked at 141 pounds, Isiah Royal of Newberry came in at No. 3 at 149 pounds, Mitch Dean of Belmont Abbey is ranked fifth at 165 pounds, Newberry’s Caleb Spears is No. 11 at 174 pounds, Jaquez Bostic of Limestone (11th) and Noah Curreri of Queens (12th) are ranked at 184 pounds and Zach Shaffer of UNC Pembroke is ranked 12th at 285 pounds. The full poll and individual rankings are available here.
On the track, the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released the latest regional Track & Field Rating Index (TFRI) and on the women’s side six Conference Carolinas institutions remain inside the top-10 led by Mount Olive at No. 4 with 213.36 points. UNC Pembroke was sixth (162.83), Southern Wesleyan was seventh (145.71), Emmanuel was eighth (107.38), Converse was ninth (85.84) and North Greenville was 10th (79.14). Lees-McRae was 13th (66.01), King was 20th (21.94), Erskine was 21st (15.03) and Barton was 24th (1.91).
In the men’s TFRI, Mount Olive ranked sixth with 223.81 points, UNC Pembroke was ninth with 104.88 points and North Greenville was 11th with 82.49 points. Emmanuel was 12th with 79.81 points while Lees-McRae was 14th (43.68), Southern Wesleyan was 17th (27.00), Barton was 18th (19.87), King was 19th (17.72), Erskine was 21st (4.98) and Converse was 23rd (3.54). The women’s rankings are available here while the men’s rankings are available
here.
The first spring 2022 Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll was released this week and Conference Carolinas had three programs mentioned, led by Belmont Abbey at No. 19 with 150 points. Erskine was ranked 21st with 103 points and Barton received votes in the poll. The complete poll is available here.
The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA)/Dynamic 2022 Men’s Coaches Division II Poll was released for the week of Feb. 21 and Mount Olive tied for 18th with Florida Southern with 62 points while North Greenville also received votes. The full poll is available here.
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released the second regular season poll of the year and in the Southeast Region rankings, Mount Olive leads the league at No. 7 with 42 points. North Greenville was ranked eighth with 36 points and Belmont Abbey was ninth with 30 points. UNC Pembroke was receiving votes. The full poll is available here.
Each week Conference Carolinas will provide a rankings update to highlight the institutions that are excelling in competition.