JUCO Top 25: March 21

Brian Sakowski

Cameron McElwaney Blaine Peterson Troy Sutherland

A fair bit of movement this week within the top 25, but nothing in the top 5 as those clubs continue to cement themselves as the outliers of this season right now. Central Florida is as hot as they've ever been this season, going on a month of holding the No. 1 spot with no sign of relinquishing it. Central Arizona is right on their heels at No. 2 and have played better and better as the season as gone on as well. Iowa Western had a weather-induced bye week and as such stay at 3, while Walters State moves up a spot to 4 and LSU-Eunice joins the top 5 for the first time in 2023 at No. 5 overall.

Pearl River is up to 6, a season-high mark for them, with all of JUCO anxiously awaiting their likely showdown with Eunice once we get to the postseason. Florence-Darlington and Johnson County both jumped a bit this week as well to 7 and 8, respectively, which are season highs for both. Gulf Coast State stays in the top 10 following a solid week, while Heartland joins the top 10 for the first time this season. We had to wait a bit for them to get some games under their belt, but at 15-1 they've certainly proved they belong thus far.

Santa Fe (FL) and Connors State (OK) are big risers this week, jumping all the way up to 11 and 13, respectively. Those are season-high marks for both, as neither of whom were ranked to start the season. They are dominating in their own respective ways and are worthy of these kinds of large jumps as a result, with Santa Fe sitting at 29-1 and Connors State checking in at 27-1 currently. Gaston (N.C.) is also a big mover this week, taking their 26-3 record up to the No. 16 slot. The lone newcomer this week is Southern Nevada who, after a couple weeks removed from this ranking have really turned it on and currently sit at 22-6, slotted at No. 21.

It's getting late early for a couple perennial powerhouses towards the bottom of this list, as we wait patiently for them to hit their expected strides at some point. There are many teams chomping at the bit to earn their way onto this board, and we may see serious movement next week if certain strides don't get hit.

Rk.	Team	ST	Record
1	Central Florida	FL	30-1
2	Central Arizona	AZ	27-5
3	Iowa Western	IA	14-0
4	Walters State	TN	28-4
5	LSU-Eunice	LA	24-0
6	Pearl River	MS	24-4
7	Florence Darlington	SC	27-5
8	Johnson County	KS	23-4
9	Gulf Coast State	FL	20-6
10	Heartland	IL	15-1
11	Santa Fe	FL	29-1
12	South Mountain	AZ	23-9
13	Connors State	OK	27-1
14	San Joaquin Delta	CA	19-3
15	McLennan	TX	16-7
16	Gaston	NC	26-3
17	Meridian	MS	18-6
18	Midland	TX	19-4
19	San Jacinto	TX	20-11
20	Pensacola State	FL	23-6
21	Southern Nevada	NV	22-6
22	Pima	AZ	22-8
23	Miami-Dade	FL	20-9-1
24	Wabash Valley	IL	19-7
25	Crowder	MO	18-9