Defending national champion Pittsburg State will begin 2012 as the No. 1 team in the MIAA, as selected by both the coaches and a panel of 36 media members who submitted ballots.

The polls are identical in the top eight positions, with Northwest Missouri, Missouri Western, Washburn, Central Missouri, Nebraska-Kearney, Emporia State and Lindenwood following PSU.

I'd move UNK down below Lindenwood and Emporia up to 6, but other than that, the top 8 sound about right.

From there is where it gets dicey, as the bottom half of this conference is always a coin toss, and that is even more true this year with the addition of five new teams. The coaches have Northeastern State, Missouri Southern, Fort Hays, Central Oklahoma, Southwest Baptist, Truman and Lincoln rounding out the poll.

In the media poll, Fort Hays, Northeastern State, Missouri Sotuhern, Truman, Southwest Baptist, Central Oklahoma and Lincoln complete the rankings.

Northwest Missouri earned two first-place votes in the coaches' poll, with Missouri Western also picking up one. Eleven media members liked Northwest to win the conference, with one picking Western.

Western is coming off a great season and has some very good players coming back, but I think first-place votes might be a bit of a stretch.

Here's a look at both polls. What do you think of the selections?

Coaches Poll
1. Pittsburg State (12) 192
2. Northwest Missouri (2) 184
3. Missouri Western (1) 165
4. Washburn 154
5. Central Missouri 153
6. Nebraska-Kearney 122
7. Emporia State 103
8. Lindenwood 95
9. Northeastern State 85
10. Missouri Southern 82
11. Fort Hays State 74
12. Central Oklahoma 54
13. Southwest Baptist 49
14. Truman 43
15. Lincoln 18

Media Poll
1. Pittsburg State (24) 538
2. Northwest Missouri (11) 524
3. Missouri Western (1) 456
4. Washburn 447
5. Central Missorui 393
6. Nebraska-Kearney 390
7. Emporia State 286
8. Lindenwood 268
9. Fort Hays State 241
10. Northeastern State 233
11. Missouri Southern 194
12. Truman 155
13. Southwest Baptist 150
14. Central Oklahoma 121
15. Lincoln 42

MIAA release: http://themiaa.com/news/2012/8/6/FB_0806122554.aspx