PEMBROKE, N.C. - The National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) released their final poll for the 2021 Division II baseball season on Monday, with Northwest Nazarene closing out their best year in program history at sixth in the nation.

National champion Wingate topped the poll, while runner-up Central Missouri finished second. Tampa, Angelo State, and Seton Hill rounded out the top five. The other two National Championships participants, Southern New Hampshire and Trevecca Nazarene, finished seventh and ninth, respectively. 

Azusa Pacific was the next highest West Region program at 16th, while Western Oregon was the only other GNAC representative at 22nd. 

The Nighthawks undoubtedly had the best season in program history, and arguably the best for any Nighthawk team in NNU's Division II history. NNU went 35-10, claiming the GNAC regular season title, GNAC tournament championship, NCAA West Region title, and earning one victory at the DII Baseball Championships to finish in the top six.

Grant Kerry was named an NCBWA All-American, consensus First Team All-Region selection, and the GNAC Newcomer of the Year. Max Holtzclaw, Shawn Grandmont, and Kyle Ethridge were consensus First Team All-Region and All-GNAC picks, while Ben Johnson, Colton Moore, Ryan Dearing, Blake McFadden, John Gonzalez, and Haden Keller were also named All-GNAC. Joe Schaefer was also named the West Region and GNAC Coach of the Year.

NNU broke into the NCBWA Top-25 on March 10 with a ranking of 19th and never left the poll for the rest of the year. NNU was in the poll for a total of 13 weeks and slotted in the top 10 nationally for seven of those 13 weeks. The Nighthawks climbed as high as sixth during the regular season, equaling their final standing.