Entering 2002-03 season:
| # | Team | W-L | Pts. | 2002 final |
| 1 | Washington U. (14) | 25-1 | 602 | 3 |
| 2 | Bowdoin (1) | 26-2 | 548 | 6 |
| 3 | Wilmington (3) | 28-2 | 489 | 5 |
| 4 | King's | 25-4 | 467 | 8 |
| 5 | UW-Stevens Point (5) | 30-3 | 464 | 1 |
| 6 | Hardin-Simmons (2) | 27-2 | 447 | 13 |
| 7 | St. Benedict | 24-5 | 430 | 14 |
| 8 | Scranton | 25-5 | 399 | 10 |
| 9 | DePauw | 26-4 | 343 | 4 |
| 10 | UW-Stout | 23-5 | 266 | 11 |
| 11 | Baldwin-Wallace | 20-7 | 248 | — |
| 12 | Hope | 27-3 | 226 | 7 |
| 13 | St. Lawrence | 28-4 | 220 | 2 |
| 14 | Carleton | 24-6 | 215 | 20 |
| 15 | Eastern Connecticut | 26-3 | 212 | 15 |
| 16 | Salisbury | 24-5 | 209 | 24 |
| 17 | Marymount | 24-8 | 185 | 9 |
| 18 | DeSales | 21-7 | 184 | — |
| 19 | Christopher Newport | 24-5 | 183 | — |
| 20 | Muhlenberg | 21-4 | 178 | — |
| 21 | Wartburg | 21-7 | 174 | — |
| 22 | Lebanon Valley | 23-5 | 152 | — |
| 23 | Ithaca | 23-4 | 124 | — |
| 24 | Bethany | 22-7 | 119 | — |
| 25 | Emmanuel | 27-3 | 110 | 17 |
Others receiving votes: New Jersey 101; Southern Maine 95; Messiah 77; Springfield 71; Case Western Reserve 67; Pacific Lutheran 65; Wittenberg 56; Rutgers-Camden 49; Ohio Wesleyan 48; St. Thomas 42; Rochester 42; Whitworth 26; Centre 23; Maryville (Tenn.) 22; Plymouth State 20; Buffalo State 18; Gustavus Adolphus 16; Guilford 16; UW-Eau Claire 13; Salem State 12; Capital 9; Wheaton 8; Webster 8; UW-Oshkosh 8; Trinity (Texas) 7; NYU 5; Anderson 5; Kean 5; McDaniel 5; Chapman 2; George Fox 2; Catholic 1.