The most recent update to CB360’s exclusive Composite National Rankings (CNR), updated prior to games on April 27, includes only one change within the top-10, as  Virginia is back in the spot it held two weeks ago, before dipping to #12 last week. But elsewhere within the CNR, seven different teams have returned to the Top–50:  Louisiana-Lafayette,  Utah,  UCLA,  Oklahoma State,  San Diego State,  Nebraska,  Gonzaga and  Charlotte.
The eight teams that have slipped out of the current Top–50 include: Oregon, Missouri, Minnesota, Sam Houston State, Tennessee Tech, North Carolina State and Coastal Carolina.
The top three teams in the CNR remain unchanged, with Oregon State (7th straight week at #1) still well ahead of North Carolina in the 100-point scale (97.66 to 95.22), followed by Louisville. Atlantic Coast Conference teams now occupy the #2–#4 spots, with Clemson moving up one position from a week ago. Texas Tech has dropped back from #4 to #6, while  TCU has slipped back one spot. Current #9 Arizona (#7 a week ago) and Arkansas (dropped from #9 to #10) round out the current top-10.
>>> Scoreboard pages will be posted on CB360 for results involving the current CNR Top–50, including for this past midweek and the current weekend (April 28–30).
Only four teams have maintained a top–10 spot within the CNR throughout the 2017 season: Oregon State, Louisville, Arizona and TCU. Louisville opened the season at #7 in the CNR and spent three weeks at #2, before dropping back a couple spots but now back to #3. Arizona sat at the bottom of the CNR preseason top–10 and ultimately climbed as high as #3 for a couple weeks, before sliding back to 9th. CNR preseason #1 TCU, in search of a rare 4th straight College World Series appearance, occupied the CNR #1 position for the first month of the season and later slipped out of the top–10, at #14, for one week (then back to 8th and now 7th).
Texas Tech, now #6 recently held down the #2 spot for two weeks (the Red Raiders opened 2017 outside the CNR top–20, at #21) … Clemson opened the season at #13 in the CNR but cracked the top–10 five weeks ago, at #8 (now all the way up at #4) … a pair of recent newcomers to the top–10 were not even CNR preseason top–50: current #5 Kentucky and Oklahoma (peeked at #9, but now #42).
It took Kentucky a month into the 2017 season before cracking the CNR Top–50 (at #43), then ascending to #19, then #12, #9, #8 and now #5. Oklahoma slid into the Top–50 (#48) after Opening Week, followed by CNR spots of 27–24–30–21–14–9 and #12 (but recent slump has the Sooners way down at #42).
• PLENTY OF TOP–10 MEMBERSHIP (“Flavors Of The Week”) – A whopping 21 different teams have spent time within the CNR Top–10 this season: the current #1–#10 teams, plus five other preseason Top–10 squads: Florida, LSU, Florida State, Vanderbilt and Coastal Carolina … along with these six teams: Texas A&M, Baylor, St. John’s, Cal State Fullerton, Florida Gulf Coast and wake Forest (although FGCU now is out of the Top–50 entirely). Five different CNR Top–10 teams this season were not even among the preseason Top–10: current #5 Kentucky along with St. John’s (now #23), Baylor (now #34), Oklahoma (now #42) and FGCU, while current #11 Wake Forest also was not a CNR preseason Top–50 team.
… The current CNR Top–10 includes four ACC teams (#2 UNC, #3 Louisville, #5 Clemson & #8 UVa) plus two from the resurgent Big 12 (#6 Texas Tech & #7 TCU)), along with the Pac-12 duo of  Oregon State and  Arizona, and “only” two SEC teams among the Top–10:  Kentucky and  Arkansas.
• PROJECTED REGIONAL #1 SEEDS/HOSTS – Based on the current CNR, the 16 projected NCAA Regional hosts would include six from the SEC (UK–Ark.–FL–LSU–Miss. St.–Auburn) … five from the ACC (UNC–LOU–CLEM–UVa–Wake Forest) … … the two Big 12 (TT–TCU) … the Pac-12 pair (Ore. St–Ariz.) … and Michigan from the Big Ten … the top-8 national seeds, based on the current CNR, would include four from the ACC alone (UNC–LOU–CLEM–UVa), along with the Big 12 pair (TT–TCU), the Pac-12’s Oregon State and Kentucky from the SEC.
• The Pac-12 opened the season with the most teams (9) in the CNR Top–50 among all conferences … but only six of those teams (Oregon State, Arizona, Stanford, Oregon & recently-returned Washington and UC:A) are in the current Top–50, as ASU, USC & Cal all sit outside the current Top–50 despite being preseason Top–50 (they were, respectively, #34–44–45 in the initial CNR).
• After opening the season with only four CNR preseason Top–50 teams (TCU, OK St, TT & Texas), the Big 12 currently is much better positioned, with seven in the current CNR Top–50 (the above four, plus Oklahoma, WVU and Baylor).
>>> COMPOSITE NATIONAL RANKINGS (CNR) CRITERIA: The CB360 Composite National Rankings, back for the 9th season in 2017, center around an in-depth statistical formula created in 2009 and enhanced over the years by CB360 co-founder Pete LaFleur (who also compiles a similar CNR for affiliate site CollegeSoccer360.c0m). Teams receive points based on their standings in each poll/rating/projection (60 pts for #1; 59 for #2, etc.). For polls involving voting points (coaches and CB) and most of the various RPI-type ratings, the CNR adjusts to reward teams that have larger margins in the voting/point totals (whereas two teams with nearly the same voting-point total will be closer in the CNR allotment for that poll). Note that strength-of-schedule typically is factored into RPI formulations … thus the actual SOS numbers are used only early in the season (SOS are not used in the CNR when RPI already are in the mix). For the NCAA field projections, teams are awarded CNR points based on their respective seedings, “last in” and “last out,” etc.
The polls/ratings/projections are averaged, with 37-40 points (pending bonus pts, see below) typically then added to each total in order to yield the 100-point benchmark. Early in the season (projected SOS; and preseason conference coaches polls) and late in the season (final-10 games), a maximum bonus/penalty of 2.0 (SOS & conf. poll) or 0.5 points (final-10) is factored into the formula (in that case, 38.0, or 39.5, rather than 40, is added to the poll/rating/projection avg.). The current midseason CNR in 2017 includes a max. of 3.0 bonus points: max. 1.0 for preseason conference coaches poll; max 1.0 for current national scoring leaders; and max 1.0 for national “defense” leaders (low runs allowed/gm).
• THAT’S WHY THEY PLAY THE GAMES – Five current CNR Top–25 teams were nowhere to be found in the CNR Preseason Top–50:  Kentucky,  Arkansas,  Wake Forest,  Auburn and  St. John’s, plus recent top-25 teams  South Florida &  Oklahoma. Current #6 Texas Tech had climbed into #2 spot for a couple weeks, after opening the season at No. 21 in the CNR.
On the flip side, several preseason top–10 teams have tumbled significantly: Coastal Carolina (CNR preseason #9; now out of the top-50) … Vanderbilt (started at #4; fell to #29 but now #26) … Florida (#2 to #23, but now back knocking on the top-10 door at #12) … Florida State (#4, but recent slippage has the ‘Noles at #31) … and LSU (#3, but similar slump before surging back to current #13).
In addition to Coastal Carolina, five other teams that opened the season among the top-25 in the CNR already have tumbled out of the top-50:  NC State,  East Carolina,  Miami and  UCSB (preseason #24 Washington had fallen out of the top-50 but returned a couple weeks ago, as has preseason #17 Louisiana-Lafayette).
… And less than 60% (29 teams) of the CNR preseason Top–50 are in the current Top–50: the above 20, along with preseason #17 Louisiana-Lafayette, (24) Washington, (27) Long Beach St., (31) Maryland, (32) Mississippi St., (33) Texas, (39) Gonzaga, (43) UCLA, (46) Nebraska.
… While only 10 teams have stayed in the CNR Top–25 all season: Oregon State, UNC, Louisville, Texas Tech, Clemson, Arizona, TCU, Fullerton, UVa and LSU.
… And only eight have been CNR Top–20 all season (the above 11, except for TT, UVa & CSF).
… Finally, as noted in the early parts of the text on this page, the only teams to stay in the CNR Top–10 all season: Oregon State, Louisville, Arizona and TCU.