The NCCAA DII Men's Basketball Poll was released yesterday afternoon, and the Crusaders checked in at #3 in the nation. The ranking is the first national ranking for the Men's Basketball program, and the highest ranking for any Great Lakes Christian College Athletic program. Only Grace Christian University and the defending three time National Champion Randall University were ranked above the Crusaders in the initial poll. The top five included three Mideast region teams with Grace Christian #1, GLCC #3, and Johnson University TN tied for #4.
The NCCAA Top 10 Rankings are developed by the National Sport Chair and Regional Sport Chairs who represent each region. Regional Sport Chairs develop a ranking for their region. Based on each regional ranking, Regional Sport Chairs then rank teams on a national level. The National Sport Chair then compiles the national ranking based on points from each team's ranking on the Regional Sport Chairs' national ballots.
The complete poll :
# School Record Points
1 Grace Christian University (MI) 7-3 80
2 Randall University (OK) 2-5 71
3 Great Lakes Christian College (MI) 6-3 64
T4 Johnson University Tennessee 2-6 47
T4 Maranatha Baptist Univ (WI) 2-1 47
6 Trinity Baptist College (FL) 3-3 37
7 Dallas Christian College (TX) 1-4 34
8 Kansas Christian College 4-2 26
9 Bob Jones University (SC) 0-4 13
10 North Central University (MN) 2-3 12
RV Kentucky Christian University RV Arlington Baptist University (TX) RV Ozark Christian College (MO)
Sophomore guard Isiah Reed said this about being ranked, "We still got work to do, but for me being one of the returners it's great to be ranked for first time in program history. Last year, the team we had was just getting a feel for everything and how it worked. There is still a big chip on my shoulders because I feel that we still have so much more to prove as a program. I know as a team we are not satisfied with being ranked #3, because we know how good we are and how good we can be. We know when we are playing our best basketball we are a tough team to beat, and we are going to keep proving ourselves each day."
Coach Westerlund said this about the ranking, "I am proud of my guys. They earned this moment. They've worked so hard and it's awesome to be recognized for that work. We still have a whole lot more we want to accomplish so we cannot be satisfied with just being ranked. We will keep changing our best and keep growing each day. I've been telling people that I think this group is special, and they continue to prove me right." On what this ranking means to the college, "I am so happy for our college, to see our student body, staff, faculty, and alumni be excited and proud of this accomplishment is really fun to see. We want to represent our college in the best possible way on and off the court. I want to say too, this ranking would not be possible without our supportive administration, from the jump they have been supportive of these guys, myself and our program. There is a quote 'Coaches and players win games, but administrations wins championships.' We are here in large part because of our administration, so I am thankful for them. It is an ELITE day to be a Crusader."