Pioneers break into NAIA Men's Basketball Top 25 at No. 21 in the country this week
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Point Park University has broken into the NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll at No. 21 this week. The Pioneers, with a record of 16-1 on the season, moved up five spots from the previous poll, which had them 26th overall in the country and in the "receiving votes" category.
Point Park, under second-year head coach Kevin Reynolds, has gained an NAIA Top 25 ranking for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The Pioneers were ranked as high as No. 3 in the NAIA Division II Top 25 Poll that year, a level that Point Park was a member of from 2000 to 2020 when it was in existence.
The last time Point Park was ranked in the Top 25 when the NAIA was all one division -- as it is now -- was 1996-97 when the Pioneers went to the NAIA Final Four.
The Pioneers are one of five new teams to the Top 25 poll this week. Going from "receiving votes" to inside the rankings were No. 18 Tennessee Southern (16-2), No. 19 Antelope Valley (Calif.) (14-2), No. 21 Point Park (16-1), No. 23 Bethel (Ind.) (13-3) and No. 25 SAGU (Texas) (11-4).
At 16-1 on the year, the Pioneers have one of the best records in the NAIA alongside No. 1-ranked Grace (Ind.) (17-0), No. 2 Langston (Okla.) (15-0), No. 6 Cumberlands (Ky.) (16-1) and No. 4 Oklahoma Wesleyan (16-1). The Pioneers are in that group that has at least 16 wins and one loss or less.
The Pioneers received 140 votes from the NAIA coaches this week to put them squarely in the Top 25. That is an increase from last time when Point Park received 68 votes and were No. 26 overall. This time, at least 108 votes were needed to get ranked.
Point Park is among the NAIA leaders in many areas including overall rebounding (1st at 52.6 rpg), rebound margin (1st at +18.0 rpg), points per game (5th at 91.4 ppg) and field goal defense (6th at .382).
Point Park has four double-digit scorers with point guard Jalen Stamps (20.1 ppg), forward Jo Valrie (20.8 ppg) and guards Jamisen Smith (16.9 ppg) and Nathaniel Van (10.5 ppg). The rebounding effort is led by Valrie (10.2 ppg) along with Jags Jhawar (8.2 rpg) and Nazareth Fisher (7.9 rpg), a pair of centers who are 7-2 and 6-10, respectively.
The Pioneers' next game is Saturday, Jan. 20 at home versus IU East. Tipoff is 3:00 p.m. at Point Park's home court of CCAC-AllegHeny.
NAIA MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES' TOP 25 POLL (JAN. 17, 2024)
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Grace (Ind.) [18] | 16-0 | 480 |
| 2 | 2 | Langston (Okla.) | 15-0 | 464 |
| 3 | 5 | College of Idaho | 14-2 | 443 |
| 4 | 8 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 15-1 | 430 |
| 5 | 9 | Indiana Wesleyan | 15-2 | 414 |
| 6 | 12 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 16-1 | 406 |
| 7 | 11 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 14-2 | 387 |
| 8 | 7 | Montana Tech | 13-3 | 340 |
| 9 | 6 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 13-2 | 336 |
| 10 | 14 | Lourdes (Ohio) | 13-1 | 329 |
| 11 | 16 | Mobile (Ala.) | 14-3 | 289 |
| 12 | 4 | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 11-3 | 274 |
| 13 | 20 | Roosevelt (Ill.) | 14-2 | 267 |
| 14 | 13 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 14-3 | 263 |
| 15 | 10 | Arizona Christian | 14-4 | 229 |
| 16 | 22 | Florida Memorial | 14-2 | 204 |
| 17 | 3 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 12-4 | 200 |
| 18 | RV | Tennessee Southern | 16-2 | 197 |
| 19 | RV | Antelope Valley (Calif.) | 14-2 | 162 |
| 20 | 17 | Morningside (Iowa) | 12-4 | 142 |
| 21 | RV | Point Park (Pa.) | 16-1 | 140 |
| 22 | 19 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 12-3 | 130 |
| 23 | RV | Bethel (Ind.) | 13-3 | 122 |
| 24 | 24 | Oregon Tech | 12-3 | 112 |
| 25 | RV | SAGU (Texas) | 11-4 | 108 |
Dropped From Top 25: Florida College, Xavier (La.), The Master's (Calif.), Wayland Baptist (Texas), Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
Others Receiving Votes: Florida College 107, Central Methodist (Mo.) 100, Ave Maria (Fla.) 69, Talladega (Ala.) 48, Marian (Ind.) 41, Madonna (Mich.) 34, The Master's (Calif.) 22, Mayville State (N.D.) 17, Xavier (La.) 14, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 7, Kansas Wesleyan 6, Hastings (Neb.) 5, Wayland Baptist (Texas) 4, Vanguard (Calif.) 3, WVU Tech (W.Va.) 3, Central Baptist (Ark.) 3, Pikeville (Ky.) 3