Spartanburg
Methodist Surges To No. 1
As
Other Top Schools Struggle Out of Gate
Central
Arizona, Grayson County (Texas) and Seminole State (Okla.) were
ranked 1-2-3 in Perfect Game’s pre-season assessment of the
nation’s top junior-college teams, but the three schools have
struggled to live up to expectations to date.
Between
them, they have lost 15 games, with No. 1 Central Arizona going 12-5
in the season’s first month, while No. 2 Grayson County has gone
8-4 and No. 3 Seminole State a mere 6-6.
Predictably,
there is a new name atop PG’s first in-season ranking of the top
junior colleges. South Carolina’s Spartanburg Methodist (11-2),
ranked No. 4 at the outset, has leapfrogged every team in its path to
claim the No. 1 spot.
Grayson
County, which unexpectedly dropped a season-opening three-game series
to Paris (Texas) JC but has rebounded to win seven of eight, remains
at No. 2, while Central Arizona slips to No. 3. Seminole State
plummeted to No. 12.
Three
Florida schools, Polk State (17-2), Miami-Dade (17-3) and Santa Fe
(10-5) occupy the Nos. 4-5-6 positions.
| RK |
Previous |
Team |
State |
Record |
| 1 |
4 |
Spartanburg Methodist |
SC |
11-2 |
| 2 |
2 |
Grayson County |
TX |
8-4 |
| 3 |
1 |
Central Arizona |
AZ |
12-5 |
| 4 |
19 |
Polk State |
FL |
17-2 |
| 5 |
12 |
Miami-Dade |
FL |
17-3 |
| 6 |
6 |
Santa Fe |
FL |
10-5 |
| 7 |
8 |
Iowa Western |
IA |
7-2 |
| 8 |
16 |
Rio Hondo |
CA |
10-2 |
| 9 |
10 |
LSU-Eunice |
LA |
11-3 |
| 10 |
11 |
Southern Nevada |
NV |
16-5 |
| 11 |
30 |
Santa Ana |
CA |
10-1 |
| 12 |
3 |
Seminole State |
OK |
6-6 |
| 13 |
13 |
State College of Florida-Manatee |
FL |
14-7 |
| 14 |
14 |
Wabash Valley |
IL |
7-4 |
| 15 |
15 |
Middle Georgia |
GA |
4-2 |
| 16 |
29 |
Orange Coast |
CA |
12-2 |
| 17 |
27 |
New Mexico |
NM |
10-2 |
| 18 |
NR |
Chattahoochee Valley |
AL |
13-0 |
| 19 |
NR |
Cisco |
TX |
13-1 |
| 20 |
17 |
Navarro |
TX |
9-6 |
| 21 |
18 |
Walters State |
TN |
10-5 |
| 22 |
9 |
Feather River |
CA |
7-7 |
| 23 |
24 |
Salt Lake |
UT |
9-5 |
| 24 |
41 |
Crowder |
MO |
8-1 |
| 25 |
21 |
Chipola |
FL |
12-9 |
Dropped out: No. 5 Howard, Texas (4-6); No. 7 San Mateo, Calif. (5-7); No. 20 San Jacinto, Texas (5-9); No. 22 Riverside, Calif. (9-4); No. 23 Fresno, Calif. (7-5); No. 25 Jefferson, Mo. (2-5).