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College  | Story | 5/17/2023

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 17

Nick Herfordt
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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Perfect Game Staff
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16u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 Carlos Acuna (2028, Sylmar, Cal.) turned in an impressive start on Wednesday, tossing four shutout innings with six strikeouts and just one hit allowed. The 6-foot-1 right-hander filled up all four quadrants of the strike zone with his fastball, which lived in the 86-87 mph range and touched 88 a couple of times. He mixed in a true 12-6 curveball with huge depth down in the zone, and showed comfortability doubling up on the breaking ball. ‘28 Francis Conners-Schmid (NY) was dominant out of the ‘pen, 6 Ks in 2 hitless inn of work. Lived 88-89 & touched 90 multiple times. Sharp horz break to the SL w/ teeth & tight spin (clip). Athletic mover w/ serious 2-way upside. @JKselectBSB #WWBA @PGMidAtlantic pic.twitter.com/z859j3UCEq — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 8, 2026 Francis Conners-Schmid (2028, East Chatham, N.Y.)...
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Tournaments | Story | 7/9/2026

Future Stars Take Center Stage at 14U BCS

Alyssa Golden
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The 21st annual 14U BCS National Championship returns to Fort Myers, Florida this Thursday through Monday, bringing many of the nation’s top teams to compete for one of the summer’s premier titles. Seven nationally ranked teams, featuring some of the top prospects in the class of 2030, will take the field looking to prove why they rank among the country’s elite. Headlining the field is No. 25-ranked outfielder James Watson of Canton, Georgia. The No. 9 outfielder in the nation has been one of the most productive hitters in the field this season, posting a 1.227 OPS while batting .394 with eight home runs, 69 RBI and 32 stolen bases over 84 games. Watson has also excelled on the mound, recording a 3.50 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 44 innings while holding opposing hitters to a .181 batting average. The athletic two-way player owns a 94 mph exit velocity, an 88-mph outfield...
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Tournaments | Story | 7/8/2026

Premier Invite Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
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Tripp Merren (‘29 TX) with a pair of missiles off the barrel today including a no-doubt 2-run 💣 and triple later both to RCF. Electric bat speed with easy strength off the barrel. Can really scoot around bases. #PremierInvite pic.twitter.com/VUEHQZ0bmM — Perfect Game Texas (@Texas_PG) July 3, 2026 Tripp Merren (2029, Houston, Texas) took home MVP honors enroute to a big championship win for the Houston Texans Astros Scout Team. Merren stands in at 6-foot-0 from a pretty physical frame at this age. He has the athleticism to go with it and already looks like he has filled out a good bit. Merren fits the mold as a true power hitting corner guy but can play all over on the dirt. He finished the week going 9-15 that included two doubles, a triple, and two homers. He also drove in seven runs and scored nine times. Talk about a complete week and Tripp was simply in the heart of...
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Tournaments | Story | 7/8/2026

16u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 2

Perfect Game Staff
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16u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 1 ‘28 Rylan Jenkins (GA) hits the bottom of the CF wall for a 2-RBI double; great rhythm to the stroke w/ lots of easy strength in the barrel. 6.46 runner. @BravesScout16u #WWBA @PG_Georgia pic.twitter.com/oxSt7fvsUw — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 7, 2026 Rylan Jenkins (2028, Tennille, Ga.) found a few loud barrels Tuesday morning, sending a pair of hard liners off the outfield wall. He drove in four runs and crossed home three times himself. The 5-foot-9 lefty hitter takes a smooth path to the baseball with excellent rhythm to the operation. He generates lots of easy strength at the point of contact and consistently produces high exit velocities to the pull-side and middle of the field. Jenkins is extremely twitchy and gets down the line in a hurry. He runs a 6.46 sixty and turns doubles into triples often. Tripp Sapp (2028, Loganville,...
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Tournaments | Story | 7/8/2026

13u World Series Notes: Days 3-5

Perfect Game Staff
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13u World Series Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Chaysten Fuentes (2030, Ewa Beach, HI) worked really well from the right side of the plate ending up with five hits and a double in the last two days. The right handed hitting Hawaiian has a ton of strength to the body. The hands work directly to the ball and can hit to all fields in the approach. Has done an incredible job getting the barrel to almost everything and gets on plane in the turn.  Triston Valdez (2031, Castaic, CA) was electric on day four batting .500 with a double, triple, and five rbis. The barrel is really quick to the ball and works with a level path. Against NY Gotham 13u Ghost, Valdez would not be denied demolishing the bases clearing triple way back into the RCF gap. Stays inside the baseball consistently with the hands and torques it hard.  Christopher Julian Leija (2031, Weslaco, TX) really showed out the last two...
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Tournaments | Story | 7/7/2026

Two Day Rewind at 15u National Elite

Kinley Kitchens
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Two days into the 2026 Perfect Game 15U National Elite Championship, the storylines are already beginning to take shape. As one of the summer’s premier invite-only events, the tournament annually brings together many of the nation’s top 15U clubs, with 100 elite teams traveling to Hoover in pursuit of a championship. While there is still plenty of baseball left to play, the opening rounds have already produced breakout performances, dominant team victories, and plenty of excitement heading into bracket play. Several nationally recognized organizations entered the week as favorites, including MTBA Dawgs, ranked No. 3 nationally, Wildcatters Baseball at No. 10, and 5 Star Mafia, ranked No. 12. Meanwhile, newer programs like Jason Kidd Select Team have quickly shown they are capable of making noise against the nation’s best. One of the biggest storylines through the first...
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Tournaments | Story | 7/7/2026

15u Elite Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Troy Sutherland
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Tristan Barton (‘29, TX) has struck out three over three scoreless innings of work, getting a lively FB up to 89. Mixed in a sharp vt CB w/ late bite. Operates from a projectable RH frame w/ length + room to fill. #NatElite @Texas_PG pic.twitter.com/LXfkLOtxdo — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 5, 2026 Tristan Barton (’29, Gunter, TX) turned in a strong start on Sunday, lasting four innings of one run ball, striking out four. Barton operates from a bigger lengthy right-handed frame with considerable room to fill. He starts with a mid-body handset before working to the belt and into a high compact leg lift. Barton fires down via a compact arm action and high three quarters slot. The Texas native got a run/ride fastball up to 89, living in the mid-80s throughout the outing. He mixed in a sharp 12-6 curveball with vertical depth and late bite. Jack Graviss...
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