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College  | Rankings | 1/31/2020

2020 Division III College Preview

Photo: Ben Swords (Webster Athletics)




2020 College Baseball Preview Index | PG College Facebook Page
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Listed below are the Preseason Top 25 teams at the NCAA Division III level followed by detailed capsules of each program and the top D-III prospects in regards to the MLB Draft. The rankings and the first capsule are available for free, the rest is available with a College Baseball Ticket (CBT) subscription. To learn more about the College Baseball Ticket and to sign up today please visit this link.



Final 2019 NCAA Divisions II and III and NAIA Rankings

Since becoming the head coach of the Webster University baseball coach in 2007, Bill Kurich’s Gorlok baseball teams have earned 13 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and eight SLIAC Tournament Championships. They’ve been awarded 11 NCAA Tournament berths and advanced to the Division III College World Series in 2012, 2013, 2015 as well as last season where they were bested in a pair of one-run games. Also during Kurick’s tenure, Gorlok players have been named First Team All-SLIAC selections 72 times and have awarded All-American designation 14 times. One player, Josh Flemming, was named the D-III Pitcher of the Year and went on to become a fifth-round draft selection in 2017. It seems that Kurich and the Gorlok’s have accomplished most everything except win a national title. That could change this year.

The 2020 Gorlok roster is loaded with incredible talent up and down the roster, both in the field and on the mound. The offense boasts a number of potential All-Americans, including third baseman Ben Swords, who hit .360 with 20 doubles as a freshman last season and Kyler Kent who rapped out a school record 83 hits with a .428 batting average in 2018. On the mound the team has a pair of aces in Matt Mulhearn and Sean Beaver. Each earned All-SLIAC honors last season. Swords and Mulhearn added All-American accolades as well. The aforementioned Kent, as well as current reliever Shane Donovan, were named All-Americans in 2018.

In all, Webster welcomes back seven position starters, five of their top six pitchers and 27 letterman from last year’s team that won its 13th consecutive SLIAC regular season title and went 8-1 during the SLIAC conference tournament, NCAA Regionals and Super Regionals play. With that, they are the clear-cut choice to be Perfect Game preseason No. 1 team headed into 2020.


2020 Perfect Game NCAA Division III Preseason Top 25 Teams

Rk. '19 Rk. School ST '19 Rec.
1 7 Webster Gorloks MO 37-13
2 20 UW-Whitewater Warhawks WI 35-12
3 8 Wooster Fighting Scots OH 30-15
4 12 Cortland State Red Dragons NY 34-13-1
5 14 Southern Maine Huskies ME 37-9
6 NR Washington Bears MO 34-7-1
7 NR North Central Cardinals IL 34-13
8 18 Texas Lutheran Bulldogs TX 31-14
9 NR St. John Fisher Cardinals NY 29-14
10 10 Heidelberg Student Princes OH 35-15
11 21 Concordia Tornados TX 37-13
12 17 Trinity Tigers TX 35-14
13 24 Salisbury Seagulls MD 35-10-1
14 3 UMass-Boston Beacons MA 37-14
15 5 Concordia University Chicago Cougars IL 42-10
16 2 Birmingham-Southern Panthers AL 42-15
17 9 Shenandoah Hornets VA 35-15
18 23 Spalding Eagles KY 31-12
19 16 Rowan Profs NJ 32-13
20 22 Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets VA 28-10-1
21 1 Chapman Panthers CA 36-11
22 NR Swarthmore Garnet PA 27-12
23 NR Tufts Jumbos MA 31-11
24 4 Babson Beavers MA 39-10
25 NR The College of New Jersey Lions NJ 33-11


1. Webster Gorloks

Matt Mulhearn and Sean Beaver provide head coach with a pair of aces to start games. Mulhearn earned a number of accolades last season which included First Team All-St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, All-Central Region and All-American honors. He pitched 105 2/3 innings last season in which had had a dainty 2.13 ERA. During those outings he impressively threw five complete games, held opposition to a .228 batting average, and struck out 102 batters while only walking 11. Beaver was nearly as dominating. Beaver totaled 82 1/3 innings on the mound in which he finished with a 2.31 ERA. The San Diego native was especially impressive the second half of the season as he ended the year winning his last seven starts which included a victory over Concordia-Chicago in Super Regional action. In addition to that pair, Brendan May and Dakota Borman combined to make 19 starts and throw 84 quality innings. Cooper Hake, who pitched at UI South Bend will fortify the staff. He made 15 appearances and threw 54 1/3 innings for the Titans. The team will be without their closer from last season, but every other pitcher who totaled at least 10 innings is back.

After batting .360 as a freshman, third baseman Ben Swords hit .358 and led the team with 20 doubles and seven home runs to amass a mighty .588 slugging percentage. He also tacked on 15 stolen bases to his already impressive totals. On the other side of the infield, Kyler Kent put up solid numbers from the first base position. He batted .295 and slugged .443. In 2018 Kent recorded a school record 83 hits which included 28 multi-hit games and finished with a .428 average. Over the summer Kent was an All Star in the Prospect League. Outfielder AJ Smith was second on the team among regulars in batting with a .342 average. Aron Hopp, who also plays on the Webster basketball team, started all 50 games at centerfield and stole 23 bases. Adam Lowell stole 20 bases and batted .313 for Webster in 2018 but suffered an early season ending injury in March. He was batting .311 before being injured and should be a big contributor once again.

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