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| Jala Coad and Brockport ran their way into contention for the East regional rankings. Brockport athletics photo |
The first official regional rankings are due from the NCAA on the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 6.
Regional rankings primarily take Division III games into account.
We did a mock regional ranking last week, through games of Oct. 26.
Teams are listed with their Division III record only. For more information about the playoff format and how participants are determined, check out our FAQ.
A plus sign signifies that the team also has a non-Division III win, while a minus sign signifies a non-Division III loss. Teams in bold have clinched automatic bids. The numbers listed are a team's Division III record and their D-III strength of schedule. (The committee will dive even further into that and consider the specifics of a team's results against regionally ranked opponents, or RROs.)
| East Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Salisbury 7-0 2 Wesley 6-1 + 3 Delaware Valley 8-1 4 Union 8-0 5 W. New England 7-0 - 6 Ithaca 7-1 7 Brockport 7-1 8 Cortland 7-1 9 WPI 7-1 10 Wilkes 7-1 |
.509 .577 .536 .487 .532 .520 .539 .504 .457 .437 |
Salisbury at the top as expected after losses by both Ithaca and Cortland. ... Typically this first week's rankings do not include results against regionally ranked opponents, as the committee uses the previous ranking to generate that list. ... No two-loss teams here, which is interesting for Hobart (6-2, .623 SOS, head-to-head win vs. Brockport). ... Wilkes listed but has no path to getting an actual playoff bid. It does provide Delaware Valley with a win against a regionally ranked opponent, however. |
| North Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Mount Union 8-0 2 Wheaton 8-0 3 North Central 7-1 4 Hope 7-1 5 Baldwin Wallace 7-1 6 John Carroll 7-1 7 Aurora 7-1 8 Wash U. 6-2 9 Wabash 6-2 10 Denison 7-1 |
.567 .593 .496 .552 .504 .466 .535 .566 .524 .479 |
Top three as expected. Although the printed criteria don't really reflect North Central at No. 3, losing to the No. 2 team in the region has to be better than losing to the No. 6 team in the CCIW. ... Baldwin Wallace and John Carroll waiting in the wings, with the winner of the head-to-head game in Week 11 a playoff contender provided both win in Week 10. ... At-large candidacy ends after the Baldwin Wallace/John Carroll winner on this list and anyone else must win an automatic bid. |
| South Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 8-0 2 Muhlenberg 8-0 3 Bridgewater (Va.) 8-0 4 Susquehanna 7-1 5 Case Western Reserve 8-0 6 Berry 7-1 7 Randolph-Macon 7-1 8 Texas Lutheran 7-1 9 Birmingham-Southern 6-2 10 Hardin-Simmons 6-2 |
.433 .562 .503 .565 .477 .481 .553 .515 .489 .513 |
There's no way UMHB would be ranked anywhere other than No. 1 here, regardless of the low SOS to date. ... Muhlenberg standing strong, followed by Bridgewater and the Centennial No. 2 is in good position to potentially be an at-large candidate. ... Berry with a loss to a regionally ranked team is in better position than Randolph-Macon thanks to Johns Hopkins not being a ranked team this season. |
| West Region | SOS | Notes |
| 1 UW-Whitewater 7-0 + 2 Wartburg 8-0 3 Chapman 7-0 4 Redlands 7-1 5 St. John's 7-1 6 Bethel 7-1 7 Linfield 6-1 8 Central 7-1 9 UW-Oshkosh 6-2 10 Martin Luther 7-1 |
.576 .565 .536 .620 .569 .539 .487 .463 .627 .444 |
No surprises at the top of this ranking, especially after the Week 9 dust settled. ... Redlands the top at-large candidate from the West right now should not surprise people. ... Bethel not out of it either if it can win out, but SOS will dip a bit after games against Augsburg and St. Thomas to close regular season. ... UW-Oshkosh being ranked will help solidify Salisbury's No. 1 seed chances, but UWO may not be ranked when season ends (Whitewater still to play in Week 11). ... Gustavus Adolphus (6-2, .542 SOS, head-to-head 50-19 win vs. Martin Luther) is a better candidate for that No. 10 spot, for sure. |
How to use regional rankings: If you are an at-large candidate, you want to be sure you are the top at-large candidate in your region. That will ensure you get discussed by the national committee and have a chance to be put in the field.
There are 27 automatic bids, zero Pool B bid (teams not in the 27 automatic bid conferences) and five Pool C (true national at-large) bids. Selection Sunday is Nov. 17.