Perfect Game will be providing weekly ranking updates of the top 25 NCAA Division II teams during the 2015 season. Be sure to follow Perfect Game's College Baseball Twitter handle as well as Nick Herfordt in addition to liking PG's College Baseball Facebook page for updates throughout the season.
2015 Perfect Game College Baseball Preview Index
Tampa
rolled through the regular season last year, compiling an
inconceivable 51-2 record en route to the D-II Championships and an
opportunity for back-to-back national titles. While in Cary the
Spartans eliminated a pair of teams, but they were also handed two
one-run losses to have their record-breaking season end short of
their seventh national championship.
Nevertheless,
it would be ludicrous to call the season anything but a success. The
Spartans completed the season with a school-record .931 winning
percentage, which included a remarkable 22 wins against
nationally-ranked teams. They were the runaway winner of both the
Sunshine State Conference title and the NCAA South Region. The
Spartans pretty much won everything short of the national title.
Unfortunately
for their opposition, much of the same should be expected from UT
this season. Coach Joe Urso’s embarrassment of riches is repeating
itself once more as the perennial powerhouse looks to be just as
impressive this year as last. For every player lost due to graduation
or the draft, another has taken their place like some sort of
hardball hydra.
With
that being said, the Tampa Spartans are the Perfect Game preseason
pick for top team in NCAA Division II baseball.
The
Spartan offense, which last season scorched opposition for a .329
batting average and 7.01 ERA, is loaded once again.
Stephen Dezzi was
one of eight finalists for the Tino Martinez Award for the most
outstanding player in D-II baseball and will be back on the diamond
once again. He’ll be rejoined by former Florida State shortstop
Giovanny Alfonzo and
Nick Tindall, UT’s leader in home runs last
season and the GLVC Player of the Year in 2013.
New
to the roster are a pair of top D-II pro prospects in
Keaton Aldridge
and Nick Flair. Aldridge is a rising star who decided to finish his
college career at Tampa after starting his studies at the University
of Memphis. Flair is a third basemen who has played and excelled at
Mississippi State and Gulf Coast State.
The
Tampa pitching staff will be just formidable with
Trey Oest and David
Heintz back as starters. The duo went a combined 19-0 last season and
only walked a total of 27 batters in 169 1/3 innings while striking
out 119. Joining them on the staff will be
Dylan Barrow, who sat out
last season while redshirting. Barrow was drafted by the Yankees in
the 25
th round last year and was named a top 20 JUCO
prospect in 2013.
The
defending national champion Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles are in
good position to take home the title once again as well, but will
need some help. USI has captured two of the last five national
championships and would be the first team since Tampa to win
back-to-back titles since Tampa in 2006-07 if they’re able to
replicate last season’s success.
The
“Screagles” return seven regular starters including pure hitter
Kyle Kempf who not only hit for both average and power, but also had
an incredible 11 outfield assists along with 23 stolen bases. Another
notable player back in Evansville is All-GLVC and D-II Championship
Series MVP Matt Chavarria. Chavarria is a senior shortstop/closer who
finished with 14 saves last season, including two in Cary (along with
a win in the title game).
The
only question mark for USI will be their pitching. USI needs to
revamp their starting pitching after graduation took a toll on some
of their experienced arms.
Another
primary contender this season are the Seton Hill Griffins. SHU made
their first trip to the D-II Championships last season and return
nearly their entire roster and pitching staff. Included in their five
NCBWA Preseason All Region honorees is senior second basemen Pat
McCarthy who missed last season due to an auto accident. In 2013
McCarthy hit .397 with a team-leading 35 stolen bases. Fellow senior
Nick Sell has put up prolific numbers each of his previous three
years on campus and was one of just seven non D-I players on the
Golden Spikes watch list last season.
The
Griffs have some daunting pitching arms as well. Mike Bittel finished
his sophomore season with a 9-2 record and a 1.82 ERA and closer Jess
Cooper set a school record with 17 saves.
There
are several teams in the Preseason Top 25 who are anticipated to have
big seasons despite not finishing in the rankings last season. Among
them are Emporia State, Franklin Pierce, Trevecca Nazarene and Dixie
State.
The
Emporia State Hornets have prognosticators buzzing as ESU returns six
position players who made at least 30 starts as well as their top
three starting pitchers in ERA from a team which went 42-19 last
season, won the MIAA Tournament Championship and advanced to the NCAA
Central Region Championship game.
Franklin
Pierce has been to the D-II Championship five times in the past 10
years and is the unquestioned favorite to advance from the East
Region once again. The Ravens return seven regular starters from a
club that tied finished for first in the NE-10 and have one of the
best pitching staffs in the nation. FPU pitchers struck out 547
batters in 465 2/3 innings last season and that ratio will likely
improve this season as the staff continues to develop under acclaimed
Head Coach Jayson King.
Trevecca
Nazarene completed one of the best seasons in program history last
season and has won the first two G-MAC regular season and tournament
championships. The Trojans are eligible for the NCAA D-II postseason
for the first time this year. After finishing their season in the
NCCAA World Series last season, TNU has a strong chance to advance to
the D-II Championships this year with a roster full of seasoned
talent led by Tyler Tichenor who rapped out 101 hits last season and
batted .429.
Dixie
State will battle Cal Baptist for the PacWest title and is on the
short list of favorites to emerge from the West Region. DSU has
three players on the NCBWA All-West Region team and will be have
transfer hurler Porter Clayton on the roster.
Clayton
was drafted by the Yankees in the 21st round last June,
but passed on the opportunity to play professionally to hone his
skills in St. George. Clayton pitched two seasons at Oregon; the
first being in 2011 before taking two years off for a church mission,
only to return last year to appear in 20 games for the Ducks. He,
along with the über-athletic Trey Kamachi give Coach Chris
Pfatenhauer two of the top 20 professional prospects in D-II
baseball.
2015 Perfect Game NCAA Division II Preseason Top 25 Teams
| Rk. |
Team |
2014 Rec. |
2014 Rk. |
| 1 |
Tampa Spartans |
54-4 |
3 |
| 2 |
Seton Hill Griffins |
41-17 |
6 |
| 3 |
Columbus St. Cougars |
40-17 |
8 |
| 4 |
Mount Olive Trojans |
40-13 |
14 |
| 5 |
Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles |
49-13 |
1 |
| 6 |
Southern Arkansas Muleriders |
39-19 |
22 |
| 7 |
Chico State Wildcats |
43-15 |
7 |
| 8 |
Emporia St. Hornets |
42-19 |
NR |
| 9 |
Grand Valley St. Lakers |
39-13 |
11 |
| 10 |
Alabama-Huntsville Chargers |
41-16 |
15 |
| 11 |
Minnesota State Mavericks |
48-11 |
4 |
| 12 |
Franklin Pierce Ravens |
35-18 |
NR |
| 13 |
Florida Southern Moccasins |
35-19 |
21 |
| 14 |
Colorado Mesa Mavericks |
47-13 |
2 |
| 15 |
Trevecca Nazrene Trojans |
43-14 |
NR |
| 16 |
USC Aiken Pacers |
36-17 |
20 |
| 17 |
St. Mary's (TX) Rattlers |
35-20 |
NR |
| 18 |
Lander Bearcats |
52-9 |
5 |
| 19 |
UC San Diego Tritons |
38-16 |
16 |
| 20 |
St. Edward's Hilltoppers |
39-16 |
13 |
| 21 |
Dixie State Red Storm |
36-16 |
NR |
| 22 |
St. Cloud St. Huskies |
37-14 |
NR |
| 23 |
Mercyhurst Lakers |
30-15 |
NR |
| 24 |
Wayne St. (MI) Warriors |
36-17 |
NR |
| 25 |
Catawba Indians |
35-20 |
NR |
2015 NCAA Division II Top 30 Prospects
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