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College  | Story | 5/17/2023

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 17

Photo: Luke Napleton (Denny Sinnock)
Each of the three small school divisions have completed their regular season schedules and conference tournaments and only the best of the best still have games to play. The national tournament for the NAIA began its opening round on Tuesday with 46 teams playing in 10 regions across the country hoping to advance to Lewison, Idaho and compete for the title. The 56 NCAA D-II teams and 60 D-III schools looking to make their way into the final eight begin this week on May 18 and 19th respectively. Cary, North Carolina is the destination for the D-II Baseball Championship and the D-III finals will be played in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Along with the latest rankings is a look at each division’s regions and the schools looking to advance. 




NCAA D-II 

Rank School Prev Rk. State Overall Rec. Week Rec.
1 Tampa Spartans 3 FL 40-9 3-0
2 Quincy Hawks 2 IL 44-9 4-0
3 North Greenville Crusaders 1 SC 44-8 0-0
4 Colorado Mesa Mavericks 4 CO 45-9 4-0
5 Angelo State Rams 5 TX 47-8 3-0
6 Central Missouri Mules 6 MO 41-13 3-0
7 West Florida Argos 13 FL 37-15 3-0
8 Mount Olive Trojans 9 NC 36-15 0-0
9 Millersville Marauders 8 PA 40-8 0-1
10 Southern Arkansas Muleriders 17 AR 39-16 3-0
11 Newberry Wolves 7 SC 41-13 0-3
12 Seton Hill Griffins NR PA 44-10 4-0
13 Rollins Tars 10 FL 34-16 0-3
14 Montevallo Falcons 14 AL 38-14 0-0
15 UNC Pembroke Braves 15 NC 38-15 0-0
16 Wayne State Warriors 19 MI 42-11 4-1
17 Cal State Monterey Bay Otters 21 CA 36-16 3-1
18 Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars 16 IL 35-13 0-2
19 East Stroudsburg Warriors 11 PA 35-12 0-1
20 Azusa Pacific Cougars NR CA 34-17 3-0
21 Minnesota State Mavericks 12 MN 39-15 4-2
22 Valdosta State Blazers 22 GA 33-18 0-2
23 Metro State Roadrunners 18 CO 42-12 2-2
24 Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes 20 CA 38-17 3-2
25 Columbus St. Cougars 23 GA 36-15 0-0

Dropped: Point Loma, Wingate

West Region
Teams: CSUMB, Cal State San Bernardino, Azusa Pacific, Point Loma, Cal Poly Pomona, Western Oregon 

Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State San Bernardino have played each other seven times this season and the winner of each contest has flipped one to the other with each outcome. The Otters won both the regular season and conference tournament, but the Coyotes had the higher slash statistics on offense, a lower ERA, held opposition to a lower batting average, and had the higher fielding percentage.  It’s a total toss-up between the two. 

Instead of determining if the Otters or Coyotes will be triumphant, I’m going to go in another direction. Azusa Pacific most recently won two games over Point Loma to win the PacWest tournament, but Loma took three of four over Pacific in the regular season and won the conference regular season title. Consequently I’m going to go with Point Loma to win the West Region for the second year in a row. Their offense is mighty with Jackob Christian and Scott Anderson leading the way. Christian  is second in D-II with 26 home runs and is batting .410. Anderson is hitting .405 and leading the team with 15 doubles. Together they have painstakingly amassed 27 HBPs. Sophomore Ray Cebulski could be a difference maker in the region. He threw a one-hit shutout against Azusa in early April.

Southeast Region
Teams:
North Greenville, Newberry, Belmont Abbey, Mount Olive, Georgia Southwestern, Columbus State, UNC Pembroke

North Greenville had been the top team all season, but were jumped by both Tampa and Quincy in this week’s penultimate rankings. While the Spartans and Hawks finished strong, the Crusaders went 0-2 in their conference tournament with one of the losses being by mercy rule. Alas, sometimes a loss is just what a team needs to keep their edge as they get a reminder that they are not infallible on the field. 

I’m predicting that the humbling losses were just what the doctor ordered to keep them focused. I expect NGU to rebound and refocus and earn another trip to Cary. John Michael Faile II has had a strong second half of the season and tied the D-II record for career home runs. The way he has been swinging of late, he’ll have the crown to himself soon.

South Region
Teams:
Tampa, West Florida, Montevallo, Rollins, Valdosta St, Barry, Florida Southern, Spring Hill

Both West Florida and Tampa finished the season strong. The Argos swept #22 Valdosta State at the end of the regular season before capturing the Gulf South tournament title. The Sunshine State conference doesn’t have a tournament so the Spartans instead scheduled an away series with Newberry to prepare for the postseason. Tampa ended up convincingly sweeping the #11 Wolves while scoring double-digit runs in each of the contests. With the wins Tampa took over the number one national ranking. Drew Ehrhard established a new school record for career hits in the wins. 

Despite being the home team and top seed, Tampa is vulnerable. They went 1-4 against the #4 and #5 seeds in the region, Rollins and Valdosta St. They did however go a convincing 6-0 against Barry and FSC. With Spring Hill their first opponent the Spartans can save their top pitchers for more demanding competition. I anticipate Tampa to advance to Cary once again.

South Central Region
Teams:
Angelo St, Colorado Mesa, St. Edwards, UT Tyler, MSU Denver, Lubbock Christian

While Angelo State has been in the top five of the rankings the entire season, Colorado Mesa slowly and steadily gained ground throughout the spring and moved a position ahead of the Rams a few weeks ago. Both teams are now solidly entrenched in the top five and should easily win their respective regions. 

Both teams excel on all facets of the game. They hit for both average and power, have speed and are aggressive on the basepaths, are solid on defense with strong catchers and have deep and talented pitching staffs.  This choice is a real toss-up. I’m going to ultimately go with the Rams this year based on them having home-field advantage. ASU has won three of the last four games against CMU with each being played in San Angelo. If the games were being played in Grand Junction or a neutral field, I’d probably pick the Mavs. If Mesa does win, freshman hurler Liam Hohenstein will likely be a big part of the reason. 

East Region
Teams:
Southern New Hampshire, Goldey-Beacom, Le Moyne, Franklin Pierce, Pace, Queens (NY), Felician

Southern New Hampshire easily won the NE10 regular season title as they went 23-1 with their only loss being a 4-3 7-inning defeat to Franklin Pierce.  In the conference tournament’s opening round the two-time defending champs were surprisingly upended in a single-game play-in. Nonetheless, the Penmen will be the team to beat and if any other school advances, it will be an upset. 

SNHU is averaging nearly ten runs per contest while allowing less than four. Their offense is slugging .538 while the next best team in their conference is a .458. Nick Schwartz is batting .412 with 12 home runs and Danniel Rivera has a .380 average with 46 stolen bases. On the mound their team ERA is 3.46 while the next school is at 4.26. Josh Roberge has struck out 87 batters in 67 innings while only allowing 53 hits. 

Central Region
Teams:
Central Missouri, Missouri Southern, Southern Arkansas, Ouachita Baptist, Augustana (SD), Minnesota St, Arkansas Tech, St. Cloud State

Central Missouri did not lose a series the entire season and hasn’t lost a weekend game in a month. They had no problems during the MIAA postseason as they easily won each of their games and took the title with a 15-0 drubbing of Missouri Southern in the championship. However I don’t think that winning the region will be as straightforward.  

I think the Great American Conference and Northern Sun competition will be at a higher level than the Mules have seen the bulk of the season in the MIAA, especially on the mound. If this group of eight teams were to play this region ten times I’d reckon Central Missouri would win the bulk of them, but to make things interesting I’m going to go with a surprise pick, Augustana.  The Vikings rely heavily on a small core of players on offense, but have a solid pitching staff able to keep games close. Closer Adam Diedrich is tied for the lead nationally with 12 saves. 

Midwest Region
Teams:
Quincy, Illinois Springfield, Maryville (MO), Wayne St, Northwood, Ashland, UIndy

All in on Quincy in the Midwest. Luke Napleton is leading D-II with 27 home runs while batting .359. On the mound Kobe Essien has 61 strikeouts in 44 â…” innings while limiting opposition to a .224 batting average. Would I be surprised if UIS or another team advanced, absolutely. Would I be shocked? No, provided it is either the Prairie Stars or WSU who advances. 

Atlantic Region
Teams:
Millersville, Seton Hill, East Stroudsburg, Charleston (WV), West Chester, Mercyhurst, Shippensburg

I was on team East Stroudsburg before jumping on the Millersville bandwagon after the Warriors dropped series in two straight weekends. Now I’m all about Seton Hill. 

I’ve admittedly severely underrated Seton Hill all season long. While they don’t have a lot of power, they hit well for average and are very aggressive on the basepaths. Freshman Jack Whalen is batting .339 and has stolen 45 bases which is tied for second nationally. Their sole slugger is Jack Whalen who is batting .339 and leading the team with 13 home runs - although Braden Durham has pretty good pop as well. He has seven home runs and is hitting .338. 

The Griffin pitching staff has thrown ELEVEN shutouts on the season, including one to earn their third PSAC Championship. Jon McCullough has four complete games, a 2.32 ERA and is holding opposition to a .190 batting average. Brandon Bergert has earned a team leading 80 strikeouts in 64 â…“ innings and has a 2.66 ERA. Out of the bullpen Blake Barker has a 0.40 ERA, been a part of seven of the shutout and is limiting opposition to a .165 average with a 0.84 WHIP. 

 
NAIA 

Rank School Prev Rk. State Overall Rec. Week Rec.
1 Southeastern Fire 1 FL 52-4 0-0
2 Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies 2 GA 47-5 1-0
3 LSU Shreveport Pilots 3 LA 44-8 0-2
4 Cumberlands Patriots 4 KY 46-6 0-0
5 Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs 5 TN 42-9 0-0
6 Bellevue Bruins 6 NE 45-8 1-0
7 Westmont Warriors 7 CA 40-8 0-0
8 Hope International Royals 8 CA 33-9 0-0
9 Missouri Baptist Spartans 9 MO 42-7 0-0
10 William Carey Crusaders 10 MS 44-9 0-0
11 Webber International Warriors 11 FL 40-15 0-0
12 Doane Tigers 12 NE 42-10 1-0
13 Benedictine Mesa Redhawks 13 AZ 42-12 0-0
14 Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes 14 KS 42-13 0-0
15 Mobile Rams 15 AL 35-13 0-0
16 Vanguard Lions 16 CA 33-16 0-0
17 Cumberland Phoenix 17 TN 35-13-1 0-0
18 Freed-Hardeman Lions 18 TN 37-19 0-0
19 McPherson Bulldogs 19 KS 36-14 0-0
20 Central Methodist Eagles 20 MO 34-17 0-0
21 Reinhardt Eagles 22 GA 33-18 0-0
22 Texas Wesleyan Rams 23 TX 36-13 0-0
23 Columbia Cougars NR MO 38-13 0-0
24 Oklahoma City Stars 25 OK 30-19 1-0
25 Concordia Bulldogs 24 NE 38-16 0-1

Dropped: Lewis-Clark State

Bellevue Bracket
Teams:
Bellevue, Doane, Oklahoma City, Grand View

The top seeded and host Bellevue has played Oklahoma City twice already this season and won both contests. However those games were back in early February, and the Stars have been much better the second half of the season. OCU was an unimpressive 16-16 at the start of April, but finished 14-3 with series wins over SAGU and Science and Arts as well as swept through the Sooner Athletic Conference in which they scored over 12 runs per game. 

Despite Doane’s campus being about 80 minutes away from Bellevue, the Tigers and the Bruins didn’t tangle in the regular season. Doane has tied their school record for wins with a solid offense and has two high quality starting pitchers. If they can hold off the Stars in the opening round they should match up well against Bellevue.

While the Bruins had a strong out of conference schedule, their opposition in the North Star Athletic Association has allowed them to coast since the second week of March following their win over top ranked SEU.

While Bellevue is likely the best team of the group overall, I’m going to pick Doane either or OCU to advance out of this region as they’ve been the hotter teams down the stretch with more impactful games. In a surprise pick I’m going with OCU. Their duo of Tyler Polk and Eli Davis, two pitchers who previously threw in the Big 12, propels them to the upset region win. 

Fayette Bracket
Teams:
Southeastern, Kansas Wesleyan, Central Methodist, Madonna, St. Franics

Southeastern has been the number one team all season with a monster offense that is slashing .358/.461/.643 with 124 stolen bases and a pitching staff that has a 2.73  ERA and is holding opposition to a .210 batting averaging while striking out 634 batters in 459 innings. Going all in on SEU on this one despite the Fire being forced to play far from home.  

SEU’s shortstop Isaac Nunez is such a beast. He is batting .440 with 14 doubles, 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases. Aside from the first game of the year when he went 1-3 with a walk, his batting average has not been below .431 at any point this spring.

Hattiesburg Bracket
Teams:
William Carey, Texas Wesleyan, Ave Maria, Union, Houston-Victoria

Of the five teams in the bracket, only Willam Carey has spent the entire season in the Perfect Game rankings, and Texas Wesleyan is the only other team of the five which has been in the Top 25 at all this spring. The Crusaders are the home team for the region and haven’t had to travel away from home since April 23rd as their final regular season series and the SSAC Tournament were played on their home field. I like Willam Carey to win the bracket but be tested by the Rams. 

Kingsport Bracket
Teams:
Webber International, Missouri Baptist, Bryan (TN), Indiana Wesleyan

This four team bracket is one of the most evenly distributed in terms of talent and no matter who wins it won’t be a shock. Even fourth seeded Indiana Wesleyan has proven they can play with the best of the best as they earned wins over Georgia Gwinnett and Cumberland to start the year. Webber had a win over top ranked SEU, but also had three mercy rule losses to the Fire so they can be both very, very good as well as very, very beatable. Bryan wasn’t ranked at any point during the season, but had some very big wins throughout the season and advanced to the AAC Tournament Championship. Of the four I believe they played the best schedule to prepare for the postseason. I was admittedly late to stamp Missouri Baptist as legit despite a secret affinity for the American Midwest Conference and still have reservations despite them having one of the top winning percentages nationally. I just don’t trust their pitching depth.

I really want to make IWU my dark horse and pick them to win the region, but seeing how they went 10-7 to finish the year I can’t pull the trigger on making them my pick. I’ll take Bryan as an upset to advance instead.Parker Cosby is the rare catcher who bats lead off. He is batting .364 and can also play infield.

Lawrenceville Bracket
Teams:
Georgia Gwinnett, Freed-Hardeman, Concordia (NE), Midway, St. Xavier

The Grizzlies have been in my top three all reason long and spent the bulk of the year as my number two team pick in the NAIA. The only knock against them is that they haven’t played a competitive game in over a month - only twice since April 1st has a team been within five runs of their final score. GGC to advance to Lewiston once again. 

Ajay Sczepkowski has a chance to reach the 100 RBI mark before the season is over.  He is currently batting .425 with 29 home runs and 93 RBI with 36 stolen bases.

Lewiston Bracket
Teams:
Hope International, Science and Arts, Concordia (MI), Lewis-Clark State

This is probably my pick as the weakest opening round bracket overall. Science and Arts are good, but a step down from previous years. Concordia is an absolute enigma. They have a 46-8 record, but also a strength of schedule in the bottom five percent of NAIA teams. Lewis-Clark State is only in the tournament because they are the host institution for the NAIA World Series.  They deserve credit for playing SEU, LSU Shreveport and three other Sun Conference to start the season, but underperformed in the Cascade Conference where they finished fourth out of seven in the regular season standings and went 1-2 in the tournament. Their talent level is much better than that – very much better.   

Hope International has been a top ten team the entire season. It is their region to lose. Hector Garcia is one of the NAIA’s top pitchers. He has a 1.93 ERA and 87 strikeouts in only 51 â…“ innings while only allowing 27 hits. Wow.

Williamsport Bracket
Teams: Cumberlands, Mobile, Columbia, Reinhardt

Absolutely positively going with Cumberlands in this bracket. They've been in my top four all season long with a 48-6 record. They are hitting over .350 as a team with tons of power at the plate. They'll have eight players with double-digit home runs by the time they arrive in Lewiston, with two players, Max Harper and Charlie Muniz, who are both hitting over .400 with 20+ home runs. Their pitching staff is excellent as well. Few players can match Knicko Billings's 0.99 WHIP over 67 innings or in coolness of a name.

Santa Barbara Bracket
Teams:
Westmont, Benedictine-Mesa (AZ), Vanguard, British Columbia, Antelope Valley

The Santa Barbara bracket is balanced with three teams in the Perfect Game Top 25, and two very underrated teams nationally in British Columbia and Antelope Valley.  It’s another region where no matter who wins the group it won’t be a shock. 

The home field advantage is huge for Westmont as they are a much better 25-3 than they are on the road at 12-5; however it was UAV who gave them one of those losses. 

Not feeling great about any of these teams, but going to go with Benedictine Mesa. I like their trio of Dylan Bangs, Orlando Lorduy and Kevin Fitzgerald to create runs and fluster pitchers.  Bangs is batting .431 with 18 doubles, seven triples and nine home runs. Lourduy’s .414 is second on the team and he also has 18 doubles and nine home runs along with 20 stolen bases. Fitzgerald has a .413 average, 17 doubles, six triples and five home runs.

Shreveport Bracket
Teams:
LSU Shreveport, McPherson, Morningside, MidAmerica Nazarene (KS), Dillard

LSU Shreveport had two unexpected losses in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament, but prior to that they had won 25 games in a row and have clobbered opposition all year long. They’ve spent all but one week in the top five of the Perfect Game NAIA rankings, while McPherson’s current placement at 19th is their season best and Morningside only made a cameo at 25 two weeks ago.  This is the Pilot’s bracket to lose. I see their stumble in the RRAC tournament as a wake-up call and reminder that there is still work to be done. LSUS easily wins and advances.

Upland Bracket
Teams:
Tennessee Wesleyan, Taylor, Cumberland, Point Park, Fisher

Like LSU Shreveport, Tennessee Wesleyan has been a mainstay in the top five of the rankings, but stumbled in their conference tournament. I don’t foresee them having trouble with any of the other schools in this region, but wouldn’t be shocked to see Cumberland give them a scare with their prolific offense that has four sluggers with at least 16 home runs. Actually, just to make it interesting, I’m going to take Cumberland over the Bulldogs in this one. The two teams split two games during the regular season (although TWU won one of them 26-4). The Phoenix offense has overshadowed the fact that the team has some really good pitchers as well. Trevor Muzzi is limiting opposition to a .208 batting average and Mitch Rogers has 71 strikeouts in only 52 â…“ innings in a dual role.


NCAA D-III 

Rank School Prev Rk. State Overall Rec. Week Rec.
1 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays 1 MD 39-4 0-0
2 Salisbury Seagulls 2 MD 30-5 1-0
3 Lynchburg Hornets 5 VA 38-6 4-0
4 Birmingham-Southern Panthers 4 AL 36-9 0-0
5 Shenandoah Hornets 3 VA 38-7 2-2
6 Endicott Gulls 6 MA 39-6 4-1
7 Aurora Spartans 8 IL 39-4 4-1
8 Arcadia Knights 13 PA 32-12 4-1
9 Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets 7 OH 31-10 0-2
10 Denison Big Red 14 OH 34-8 3-0
11 East Texas Baptist Tigers 11 TX 35-11 0-0
12 Christopher Newport Captains 10 VA 31-9 0-1
13 Eastern Connecticut Warriors 18 CT 34-10 4-0
14 UW LaCrosse Eagles 24 WI 31-9 3-0
15 Marietta Pioneers 12 OH 34-11 3-2
16 Rowan Profs 16 NJ 30-13 0-0
17 Salve Regina Seahawks 15 RI 37-8-1 4-2
18 Wheaton Lyons 19 MA 37-6 2-0
19 UW-Stevens Point Pointers 9 WI 29-11 0-2
20 NC Wesleyan Batting Bishops 22 NC 35-8 2-0
21 Penn State Harrisburg Lions 20 PA 33-10 3-1
22 Tufts Jumbos NR MA 31-9 3-0
23 Cortland State Red Dragons NR NY 32-11 3-2
24 Augustana Vikings NR IL 38-7 4-1
25 Trinity Tigers 25 TX 28-14 0-0

Dropped: Randolph-Macon, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Catholic

Baltimore Region: Johns Hopkins, Randolph Macon, St. John Fisher, Penn St Altoona; New London Region: Wheaton (MA), Tufts, Mitchell, Husson  

John Hopkins has been a wrecking ball a season and demolished competition. Randolph Macon was looking good mid-season, but had struggled late going 6-8 to end the year. None of these schools should be able to upset the Blue Jays.


Cortland Region: Cortland, Ithaca, Eastern Conn St., St. Joseph’s (LI); Bridgewater Region: Endicott, Middlebury, JWU (Providence), Bridgewater St.

Despite Cortland hosting and being a favorite to win their side of the bracket, I’m picking Ithaca to be the team to advance to face the Bridgewater Region winner. The Bombers have a potent offense led by Garrett Callaghan who is batting .384 with 14 home runs.

Endicott has been in the top ten of the Perfect Game rankings for the entirety of the season and for good reason. The Gulls enter the NCAA postseason with a 39-6 record which included its second straight Commonwealth Coast Conference title. Notable wins include four over Salve Regina, two against La Verne, as well as victories over Eastern Connecticut State and Tufts. 


Marietta Region: Marietta, Mary Washington, CWRU, Adrian; Dallas (PA) Region: Salve Regina, Misericordia, Wash & Jeff, Keystone

Since April 1st, Salve Region has won all of their games against schools not named Endicott and have set a new school record for wins in a season. While Marietta and Misericordia have put together excellent seasons as well, I don’t see either of them, or any other school in the region, advancing over the Seahawks. Regina is just too good on the mound with the trio of Sean Mulligan, Graham Jeffries and Brayden Clark. In a tournament set-up such as this, having three solid starters is a real difference maker. Their offense is solid as well with a team .335 batting average.


Grandville Region: Denison, Baldwin Wallace, Spalding, Beloit; Aurora Region: Aurora, John Carroll

This set of six teams could be the strongest of any group. Denison, BW and Aurora are all positioned in the top ten of Perfect Game’s rankings. Spalding was one of the last team’s out with their 34-10 record and SLIAC title, John Carroll took series from Baldwin Wallace and Marietta in their most recent action and the Beloit Buccaneers won the both the Midwest Conference regular season and tournament titles.  Each team is capable of advancing.

I’m going to take a dark horse in this group and go with Spalding. They have an excellent pitching staff lead by Wesley Clark who has a 1.29 ERA and limiting opposition to a .131 batting average over 49 innings. Caleb Collins is formidable as well with his 2.18 ERA, 84 strikeouts and three complete games. On offense Michael Newsom is hitting .392 with 12 doubles, eight triples and 24 stolen bases.


La Crosse Region: Wis La Crosse, Buena Vista, Bethel, Bethany Lutheran; Stevens Point Region: Wis Stevens Point, Webster, Loras, Augustana (IL)

The two Wisconsin teams are the absolute favorites to advance out of this octet, but I want to choose an underdog out of this group.

Had Bethel finished the regular season stronger I’d give the senior laden club my pick to advance, but they lost double-headers to both Gustavus Adolphus and Concordia (MN) earlier this month (although they did beat both in the MIAC Playoffs). I like Webster quite a bit as they’ve rebounded from a slow start to finish the regular season strong, but the Gorlocks dropped two games in the SLIAC tournament and were one of the last team’s into the tournament so that makes me hesitant that they can finish. 

I’ll go with Augustana (IL) here. Their strength of schedule leaves something to be desired, but it’s hard to argue against a team that has gone 38-7. Pitchingwise few teams can compare to the starting trio of Harrison Boushele, Jacob Reusch and Josh Wintroub. Each has a sub 2.50 ERA and they’ve collectively struck out 266 batters in 182 â…“ innings. 


Winchester Region: Shenandoah,  Chris. Newport, Immaculata, TCNJ; Rocky Mount Region: Lynchburg, NC Wesleyan, Elizabethtown, Lebanon Valley

Lynchburg started the season positioned 16th in the preseason rankings and moved into the top five half-way through the season. They closed the season strong by winning two of three over Bridewater in the ODAC opening round, and then shutout Randolph-Macon and took two from Shenandoah to win the conference tournament. They have the talent and temperament to win this region and will be my choice to advance. 

Brenton Jones is batting .345 with eight home runs to lead the offense, and Zach Potts is the team’s starting pitcher. He had a 2.43 ERA and 81 strikeouts over 13 starts. However the MVP of the team is reliever Jack Bachmore. He has appeared in 23 games and often throws multiple innings. He had a 6-1 record with 11 saves and a 1.41 ERA. He has only allowed 45 hits in 63 â…” innings while only allowing 45 hits and 18 walks.


Birmingham Region: Birmingham Southern, La Vern, Franklin, Lewis & Clark; Marshall Region: East Texas Baptist, Pacific (OR), Trinity (TX), Cal Lutheran

I’m big on both East Texas and Birmingham Southern in this group of schools.  East Texas Baptist set a program record for wins and won both the American Southwest Conference Tournament regular season and tournament title. Meanwhile BSC has been in the top ten all season long and spent a month as the number one team. They won a series over Trinity (TX) early in the year (who is also in the group) and also had noteworthy wins over La Grange, ETBU, Webster, Adrian, Emory and Wisconsin Whitewater. 

I like the Panthers’ overall body of work more and will go with them to advance to Cedar Rapids, especially since they are an impressive 18-2 at home.


Ambler Region: Arcadia, Rowan, SUNY Brockport, Susquehanna; Middletown Region: Salisbury, Penn St. Harrisburg

Salisbury was my number one pick to take home the title at the beginning of the season and I’m going to stick with the Sea Gulls to return to Cedar Rapids. They’ve been my overall number one or two the entire spring. They have a 30-5 overall record and all but one of their losses were to teams in the national tournament - including the school who’ll they’ll face in the opening round, Penn St. Harrisburg. 

If I had to choose another school in the group, I’d go with Rowan. They haven’t performed quite as well as anticipated as I had them in my top ten to start the season, but they’ll still pretty gosh darn good. Phil Sedalis is hitting .430 with 12 doubles and eight triples, and Tyler Cannon is second on the team with a .381 average while leading the nation with 27 doubles. Zach Grace has been excellent on the mound for the Profs with a 2.98 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 66 â…“ innings with two shutouts. 

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Tyler Russo
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Player of the Year: Asher Williams It was an incredible year for Williams that was rewarded with a trip to the 14U Select Fest, before some more impressive play in the fall. He came to the plate almost 250 times in PG tournaments throughout 2025 and reached base in well over half of them, hitting to a .500 AVG while slugging a 14U circuit best 12 bombs and driving in 113 runs. The numbers on the surface are ridiculous, but when you look at the high-level events he put them up in, it makes it even more impressive. Pitcher of the Year: Tristan Blalock Blalock earns this honor after a dominant 2025 where he struck out 85 batters in just 48.2 innings of work with a minuscule 1.58 ERA. This included several strong performances at many national level tournaments and showcases where he was able to bully some of the best hitters in the country. It’s hard not to fall in love with...
Draft | Story | 12/18/2025

PG Draft: Gut Feel Guys

Tyler Henninger
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While we are nearing the turn of the calendar to the 2026 year, that means we are just inching closer to the beginning of the season for many high school players and college baseball is on the horizon. We are prepping for a reshuffle of the 2026 MLB Draft Board as well here amongst the PG Draft staff. But before we get to that, we sat down and have each picked a couple of players who are in the mix to get selected in a couple of different buckets.  We have prospects who could go into the Top 30 picks or so, prospects who could be selected in the Top 5 rounds, and prospects who could go inside of the Top 10 rounds. With the draft quite far down the road and a lot of re-shuffling to be done as these players play themselves into certain spots on the draft board, our scouts picked some players who fit into these “buckets” who are gut-feel guys. These are the guys that our PG...
Tournaments | Story | 12/17/2025

15u Tourney All-American Team

Jason Phillips
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Hitter of the Year: Landon Bonner The 2028 class saw many players from across the country take the next step in their development as they entered the High School ranks. There were huge performances from highly ranked players on the PG circuit as well as some under-the-radar guys who burst onto the scene. Landon Bonner came into Sophomore National as a Top 500 ranked player and after an impressive showing, left with all eyes on him as a rankings riser in the class. The left-handed hitting shortstop from The Colony, Texas, had a summer to remember with All-Tournament Team selections in three of his next four events culminating with a historic performance at the 2025 PG 15U WWBA National Championship. The Hebron High School prep went 20-for-24 in nine games for 5 Star Mafia 15U Black with four homeruns and 12 runs batted in. He also scored 17 runs and finished with a mind-boggling 2.500...
Tournaments | Story | 12/16/2025

16u Tourney All-American Team

AJ Denny
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Hitter of the Year: Koa Romero is the Hitter of the Year for the 16u group, as he would come to every premier event of the summer and earn All-Tournament honors (Beast of the East, 16/17u WWBA, Jupiter) in every single one. Over 82 plate appearances, Romero would pump ten homeruns with forty two RBI and sixteen walks, good for a .378 average and 1.339 OPS. The performance on volume at the best events of the year pushed Romero over the edge here, as he’d hit a pair of homeruns in Jupiter (one of them at 112 EV) as an underclassmen and collect double digit hits in BOTH WWBA events with a combined six jacks over the two tournaments. It was a summer that combined performance and winning on the biggest stages for Romero. It’s a quiet left-handed swing that packs a punch. He would reap the benefits of his performances, earning a commitment to LSU and jumping to the #74 prospect in...
Tournaments | Story | 12/15/2025

17u Tourney All-American Team

Vincent Cervino
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There’s a lot of talent throughout this 2026 class, filled with the big-name stars, to talent that spreads across the nation. It’s been a lot of fun seeing these prospects grow and develop over the years, from the days of watching some of these guys at the 13/14u days at events on the circuit, to now where they are all graduating seniors in 2026. There’s been new faces who have popped along the way over the years, even in 2026, where some players who were relatively undiscovered, have come out and made a name for themselves with a statement performance. Between the familiar and the new, there’s a lot of names on this list that are going to be quite regularly talked about on the circuit, and for good reason.  Whether it’s PG All-Americans or not, there’s a lot of names with superstar potential at the next level. We’ve got 14 PG All-Americans...
Tournaments | Story | 12/13/2025

Finest in the Field: Class of 2029

Tyler Russo
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Finest in the Field: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 | Class of 2028 These guys might just be entering high school, but they've certainly already made a name for themselves on the national circuit, especially with their abilities on the defensive side of things.  C: Xavier Rodriguez (Logansville, GA) Rodriguez is a polished defender with real arm strength behind the dish, while showcasing the ability to impact the baseball with authority to all fields evident by thirty of his sixty-five hits going for extra-bases including seven bombs. He handles high-level pitching extremely well, commands his staff and his offensive prowess makes him a true two-way asset. 1B: Cooper Knight (Buda, TX) Knight is a smooth operator at first base with plenty of range, fluidity and agility in his footwork around the bag. Add-in a rocket for an arm, the ability to change slots and to...
Tournaments | Story | 12/12/2025

Scout Stories: Part 5

AJ Denny
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Best Game I Saw: The Dream NTL 18U vs. MBA Scout Team Murphy Jupiter always brings out the best, and we got fireworks from the jump. Turner Marshall gave The Dream an outstanding 4+ innings of work on the mound, holding a lethal MBA team at bay with Chance Dixon, Derrick Carter, and Ellis Appling providing an offensive spark out of the gate for the Georgia based boys. However, it was only a matter of time before the talent on the other side got going, as MBA erased a 3-run deficit in the 5th to take a 4-3 lead led by a Parker Loew HR. The Dream then took command again in the Top of the 6th, before MBA punched right back with a huge 5-run inning in the bottom half capped off by a clutch RBI single from Matthew Kerrigan, ending a wild sequence with tons of notable performances from two very competitive rosters. Best Tournament Performance I Saw: Surely someone has already brought this...
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