SOURCE: NAIA.ORG [March 11, 2015]

By: Chad Waller, Director of Communications & Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Hope International (Calif.) is the new No. 1 in the final regular season edition of the 2014 - 15 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The Royals claimed 9-of-10 first-place votes and 250 points to earn the program's first-ever No. 1 ranking.

Hope International improved to 29-2 after winning the Golden State Athletic Conference tournament championship on Tuesday evening, a 75-61 victory over fellow Top 10 team Concordia (Calif.). The Royals also won the league's regular-season championship with a 14-2 record.

All 10 conferences and Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) are represented in this week's poll. With four ranked teams, the Golden State Athletic Conference and Sooner Athletic Conference each claim the most out of any league. The Mid-South Conference and SSAC landed a trio of Top 25 teams.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated groups. The poll will be used to decide the at-large teams for the upcoming Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship. The entire field and bracket will be released on Wednesday, March 11 at 8 p.m. CST. For more information on the polls, click here.

NOTES: (All information dates back to 2000 – 01 season) Hope International is the fifth different program this year to hold the No.1 ranking, joining Vanguard (Calif.), Cal State San Marcos, Talladega (Ala.) and Campbellsville (Ky.)… The Royals have been ranked in the top 10 in each poll this season – prior to 2014-15, their highest ranking was No. 12…

FOR FURTHER DETAILS AND COMPLETE LIST OF RANKINGS, CLICK HERE.