Entering 2001-02 season:
| # | Team (No. 1 votes) | W-L | Pts. | Last |
| 1 | Messiah (11) | 27-5 | 592 | 2 |
| 2 | Washington U. (11) | 28-2 | 553 | 1 |
| 3 | Emmanuel (1) | 28-4 | 479 | 5 |
| 4 | Hope | 25-3 | 406 | 9 |
| 5 | New Jersey | 25-4 | 401 | 8 |
| 6 | UW-Oshkosh (1) | 19-6 | 400 | — |
| 7 | New York U. | 26-2 | 379 | 3 |
| 8 | UW-Stevens Point (1) | 20-6 | 356 | — |
| 9 | St. Thomas | 25-4 | 342 | 7 |
| 10 | Baldwin-Wallace | 27-3 | 321 | 4 |
| 11 | Marymount (Va.) | 23-7 | 314 | 18 |
| 12 | St. Lawrence | 23-5 | 262 | 21 |
| 13 | Capital | 19-7 | 256 | 22 |
| 14 | Scranton | 20-5 | 238 | — |
| 15 | Centre | 22-6 | 228 | 20 |
| 16 | St. Benedict | 21-5 | 223 | — |
| 17 | Ohio Wesleyan | 26-7 | 219 | 6 |
| 18 | Eastern Connecticut | 22-4 | 207 | — |
| 19 | George Fox | 23-3 | 187 | 11 |
| 20 | Wartburg | 26-5 | 171 | 13 |
| 21 | Hardin-Simmons | 22-6 | 175 | 14 |
| 22 | Cortland State | 27-3 | 148 | 10 |
| 23 | Bowdoin | 21-8 | 144 | 19 |
| 24 | Millikin | 23-3 | 134 | 17 |
| 25 | Springfield | 24-5 | 118 | — |
Others receiving votes: DePauw 115; Carleton 89; Johns Hopkins 75; Gwynedd-Mercy 59; UW-Eau Claire 59; Simpson 54; Salem State 52; Southern Maine 34; Wittenberg 31; DeSales 27; King's 25; St. John Fisher 24; Rowan 19; Elizabethtown 18; Fontbonne 18; Ithaca 18; Pacific Lutheran 16; Oneonta State 15; Amherst 14; Wheaton (Ill.) 13; Wellesley 12; Franklin & Marshall 11; Salisbury 10; Delaware Valley 9; Hartwick 9; Guilford 8; Rochester 7; Hendrix 6; Defiance 5; Plymouth State 4; Alma 3; Richard Stockton 3; RPI 3; Trinity (Texas) 3; Nebraska Wesleyan 2; Mary Hardin-Baylor 1; Maryville (Tenn.) 1.