2015 – 16 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll – Oct. 27
| RANK | LAST WEEK^ | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | 2014-15 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Dalton State (Ga.) (9) | 32-4 | 250 |
| 2 | 6 | Pikeville (Ky.) (1) | 27-5 | 238 |
| 3 | 2 | Talladega (Ala.) | 32-5 | 230 |
| 4 | 15 | Arizona Christian | 25-9 | 222 |
| 5 | 17 | LSU Alexandria | 23-4 | 210 |
| 6 | 19 | Georgetown (Ky.) | 28-8 | 199 |
| 7 | 4 | Hope International (Calif.) | 32-3 | 197 |
| 8 | 12 | Evangel (Mo.) | 21-13 | 196 |
| 9 | 9 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 29-4 | 195 |
| 10 | 10 | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | 25-11 | 179 |
| 11 | 7 | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | 30-5 | 163 |
| 12 | 13 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 27-6 | 159 |
| 13 | 23 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 25-8 | 132 |
| T14 | RV | LSU Shreveport (La.) | 21-11 | 129 |
| T14 | NR | William Carey (Miss.) | 20-11 | 129 |
| 16 | 18 | Columbia (Mo.) | 26-7 | 116 |
| 17 | 3 | Westmont (Calif.) | 25-11 | 115 |
| 18 | 8 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 29-6 | 113 |
| 19 | 21 | Xavier (La.) | 24-10 | 112 |
| 20 | RV | Philander Smith (Ark.) | 20-10 | 107 |
| 21 | NR | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 11-17 | 105 |
| 22 | 22 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 24-9 | 92 |
| 23 | 14 | Montana Western | 23-10 | 72 |
| 24 | RV | SAGU (Texas) | 22-11 | 64 |
| 25 | 16 | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) | 25-6 | 61 |
Dropped from rankings: No. 5 Cal State San Marcos, No. 11 Concordia (Calif.), No. 20 Missouri Valley, No. 24 Oklahoma City, No. 25 Cumberlands (Ky.).
Others Receiving Votes: Cumberlands (Ky.) 59; Peru State (Neb.) 28; Faulkner (Ala.) 27; Vanguard (Calif.) 25; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 21; William Penn (Iowa) 12; Bethel (Tenn.) 10; Park (Mo.) 7; Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) 6; John Brown (Ark.) 5; Carroll (Mont.) 4; Oklahoma City 3; Langston (Okla.) 3.
^ indicates ranking from April 1, 2015 final poll