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Juco  | Rankings | 1/23/2018

2018 Preseason JUCO Top 25

Photo: San Jac Athletics




2018 College Baseball Preview Index | @PGCollegeBall | @B_Sakowski_PG |  PG College Facebook Page

Junior College baseball, at any level, across the country, often comes down to pitching depth. You don't neccesarily need to have a star ace to lead the staff, but you'd better have near double digit arms to weather the storm across a long, 60-plus game season if you expect to win the JUCO World Series. Last season, Chipola went wire-to-wire as the No. 1, and had a ridiculous 10 players drafted off of that club, led by Evan Steele and Reynaldo Rivera. They had depth everywhere, not just on the mound, as their offense as a whole was among the best in baseball. 

This year, San Jacinto enters the season at No. 1, and the depth, at least on paper, looks impressive. We may never see a team as loaded as Chipola was last year ever again, but San Jac looks like they might get close, loaded with talent in the staff and with the bats, and they're the preseason pick to win the NJCAA World Series. 

San Jac is no stranger to success, accolades or press. Head coach Tom Arrington, who has amassed a record of 742-298 in his 17 seasons at the helm, will be inducted into NJCAA Baseball Hall of Fame this season. For the math-savvy, 742 wins across 17 seasons comes out to roughly 43-44 wins per season. If you win 44 games in a season your program had an extremely good year … Coach Arrington has averaged that. 

San Jac is always loaded with prospects, both from an MLB Draft and four-year college perspective, and this year is no exception, as they place many of their players in the Perfect Game Junior College top prospect list. Sergio Macias, Herbert Iser, Jacob Cantleberry, Alerick Soularie and Matt Goodheart are just five names within the top 60 (out of 150, to be released on Friday) or so, with many more to come. 

The Gators have a long track record of success under Tom Arrington, appearing in 10 NJCAA World Series since Arrington took over prior to the 2001 season, reaching the final game five times in that stretch, but falling short each time. They've been the bridesmaid several times recently; is 2018 the year they break the streak? 


2018 Preseason Junior College Top 25

Rk. Team ST '17 Record '17 Rk.
1 San Jacinto TX 48-18 2
2 Chipola FL 51-9 1
3 Walters State TN 44-12 NR
4 Southern Nevada NV 45-18 19
5 McLennan TX 52-13 8
6 Crowder MO 54-14 9
7 Central Arizona AZ 42-23 NR
8 Northwest Florida State FL 34-17 NR
9 Howard TX 36-21 NR
10 Wallace-Dothan AL 43-21 11
11 San Joaquin Delta CA 36-11 23
12 Yavapai AZ 34-22 NR
13 Connors State OK 48-12 NR
14 Cowley County KS 45-18 4
15 Santa Fe FL 38-13 24
16 Florence Darlington SC 42-19 16
17 Jones County MS 46-4 NR
18 Iowa Western IA 44-16 22
19 Grayson TX 37-14 25
20 Santa Rosa CA 36-11 7
21 State College of Florida FL 34-22 NR
22 Hutchinson KS 47-13 NR
23 Jefferson College MO 45-14 NR
24 Weatherford TX 35-23 NR
25 Harford MD 51-10 NR

See also: Final 2017 Junior College Top 25


 

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