Cal State San Marcos becomes the seventh different team since 2000 to be ranked No. 1 in the 2013 NAIA Softball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, announced by the national office Tuesday.

No. 5 Concordia (Calif.) pulled in the remaining two first-place votes to go along with 467 total points. The Eagles, who locked down the No. 1 spot for six-consecutive weeks last year, did not advance out of pool play in the 2012 national championship.  They are the only GSAC team in the Top 25 and are picked to win their third conference title.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences /independent /unaffiliated groupings. The first regular-season Top 25 will be announced on March 19, 2013.

Last year, there were five programs to hold the No. 1 ranking: Cal State San Marcos, Concordia (Calif.), Lubbock Christian (Texas), Oregon Tech and former member Shorter (Ga.).  Since 2000, there have been 11 teams to be on top of the polls: Concordia, Cal State San Marcos, former NAIA member California Baptist, Lubbock Christian, Mobile (Ala.), Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma City, Oregon Tech, former NAIA member Simon Fraser (B.C.), Shorter and Thomas (Ga.).  Former member California Baptist leads the way with 46 all-time No. 1 appearances, followed by Oklahoma City with 20, Simon Fraser with 18, Thomas with 13, Concordia with six , Mobile with five and Lubbock Christian with four.

The 2012 Eagles were ranked #1 in the nation for the first time in school history.  They won a NAIA softball-record 44-straight games.  CU finished the season 56-4, breaking the school mark in wins.  Concordia defeated College of Idaho on February 11 and did not lose until falling 0-2 to Azusa Pacific on April 17.  That is a little over two months without a loss.  CU broke Shawnee State's (Ohio) mark of 42-consecutive established during the 1996 season.  The Eagles won the GSAC Conference Championship for the first time since 1990 and the second time in school history.  They won the inaugural GSAC/Cal Pac Conference Softball Tournament, hosted at Eagles Field, May 3-5.  They advanced to the NAIA National Tournament for the fourth time in program history.

The 2013 Eagles return a strong pitching staff with lots of experience.  Head coach Crystal Rosenthal, the 2012 GSAC Coach of the Year, returns a solid lineup, and a talented recruiting class looking to replace some heavy offensive numbers that left with the senior class.  They open their season on January 23 at UC San Diego for a doubleheader starting at 4 pm.

Check cuieagles.com in the coming months for a full season preview.

2013 NAIA Softball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll (Nov. 13, 2012)

Others receiving votes: Concordia (Ore.) 94; Madonna (Mich.) 66; Bellevue (Neb.) 61; Park (Mo.) 57; Vanguard (Calif.) 43; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 43; Campbellsville (Ky.) 36; College of Idaho 27; Tennessee Wesleyan 15; Dickinson State (N.D.) 11; Marian (Ind.) 10; St. Thomas (Fla.) 8; Davenport (Mich.) 6; Texas Wesleyan 6; William Woods (Mo.) 4; Columbia (Mo.) 3; Webber International (Fla.) 3; Georgetown (Ky.) 3.