With this being the first in-seasons rankings update, early results were treated with caution. Nevertheless, there has already been a change atop one of the divisions. Not so much because one of the leaders has played poorly, but because the number two team has been so strong.
NCAA DII
Angelo State’s national title defense has not gotten off to a great start. They began the year with a trip to Eastern New Mexico State, a team which hasn’t had a winning season since 2017, and could only manage a split with the Greyhounds. They got back on track against Cameron with four easy wins, but went 2-2 once again last weekend at UT Permian Basin, who hasn’t had a winning season since 2015.
That’s not to say ASU is looking shabby out of the gate. They’re not. Three of their four losses were by a single run and all were on the road. They are batting .319 as a team and the staff has a 3.88 ERA - which are both quality numbers. Both will improve as the season progresses. It’s doubtful catcher Tripp Clark can get much better though. He is batting .452 with four home runs with two doubles and two triples to start the season. He’s also already stolen seven bases.
The Rams host a solid UT Tyler team this weekend. Their games against the Patriots will be a better measuring rod of their ability to be the first team to win back-to-back titles since Tampa accomplished the feat in 2006/07.
Speaking of the Spartans, the perennial power has taken over the number one position in the DII rankings with a spectacular start. They won all three of their games at the Houston Winter Invitational by at least 10 runs which included two wins over ranked teams (Millersville and Central Missouri). Next they outscored previously thirteenth ranked Newberry 44-5 in a three game series and easily swept Georgia College last weekend. For the first nine games of the season UT has outscored opposition 116 to 25.
Other notable moves in the rankings were by a pair of Conference Carolina clubs who each jumped up ten positions. UNC Pembroke has been an offensive juggernaut to start the season. They haven’t scored less than eight runs in their first ten games and have plated 15 or more runs six times. Young Harris has reached double-digit runs in six of their ten games and won a statement series at Columbus State last weekend.
DII Top 25 Update
| Rank |
Prev |
NCAA |
State |
Record |
Week |
| 1 |
2 |
Tampa Spartans |
FL |
9-0 |
9-0 |
| 2 |
3 |
North Greenville Crusaders |
SC |
9-1 |
3-0 |
| 3 |
11 |
Point Loma Sea Lions |
CA |
8-2 |
4-0 |
| 4 |
1 |
Angelo State Rams |
TX |
8-4 |
2-2 |
| 5 |
4 |
Colorado Mesa Mavericks |
CO |
5-3 |
3-1 |
| 6 |
7 |
West Florida Argos |
FL |
6-2 |
1-1 |
| 7 |
17 |
UNC Pembroke Braves |
NC |
10-0 |
4-0 |
| 8 |
8 |
Central Missouri Mules |
MO |
9-2 |
4-0 |
| 9 |
9 |
Mount Olive Trojans |
NC |
5-2 |
2-1 |
| 10 |
10 |
Augustana Vikings |
SD |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 11 |
21 |
Young Harris Mountain Lions |
GA |
9-1 |
3-1 |
| 12 |
6 |
Seton Hill Griffins |
PA |
1-2 |
1-2 |
| 13 |
5 |
Cal State Monterey Bay Otters |
CA |
4-4 |
0-0 |
| 14 |
12 |
Millersville Marauders |
PA |
4-2 |
2-1 |
| 15 |
19 |
Lenoir-Rhyne Bears |
NC |
9-2 |
2-1 |
| 16 |
14 |
Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes |
CA |
7-3 |
2-1 |
| 17 |
24 |
Missouri Southern St. Lions |
MO |
10-2 |
4-0 |
| 18 |
18 |
Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes |
GA |
7-3 |
3-1 |
| 19 |
NR |
West Texas A&M Buffs |
TX |
10-2 |
3-1 |
| 20 |
NR |
Rollins Tars |
FL |
5-3 |
1-1 |
| 21 |
NR |
Francis Marion Patriots |
SC |
6-3 |
2-1 |
| 22 |
20 |
Minnesota State Mavericks |
MN |
1-2 |
1-2 |
| 23 |
15 |
Barry Bucs |
FL |
5-5 |
3-0 |
| 24 |
16 |
Texas Tyler Patriots |
TX |
6-6 |
2-2 |
| 25 |
13 |
Newberry Wolves |
SC |
2-8 |
1-4 |
Drop: Columbus State (23), Quincy (25), West Georgia (25)
NAIA
There haven’t been too many shocking starts in the NAIA early season. Bellevue hasn’t been great out of the gate, but all of their losses were to ranked opposition. It’s not uncommon for the Bruins to need a couple extra games to get on track. The winter weather was especially brutal in the Omaha area and their bats may need to warm up a bit. Tennessee Wesleyan had a rough start as well. They went 1-3 in the East/West Challenge and had losses to IU Kokomo and Montreat early. The Bulldogs have 2-11 Columbia International on this week’s schedule which should get them on track.
Two teams which have impressed early are Loyola and USAO. The two teams were at the tail end of the preseason rankings, but are both in the thick of them now. The Wolf Pack has a perfect 9-0 record with some solid wins fueled by dominating starting pitching. Three-time All-SSAC pitcher Stephen Still can already start clearing out room for a fourth honor. In 14 ⅔ innings he has struck out 23 batters with only three walks. Brady Bowen has a 2.40 ERA in three starts while holding opposition to a .200 average. OSAO has a sweep over McPherson and won two of three against Bellevue last weekend.
On the precipice of being ranked for the first time in the Perfect Game Top 25 rankings are the OUAZ Spirit. After winning their opening series over Taylor, the young program swept the College of Idaho and Bethesda. Last weekend they won the opener against Hope International, but the Royals won the series. They play Arizona Christian this week.
A player to point out in the NAIA is Southeastern pitcher Darien Smith. He has been absolutely silly this season. In 23 innings he has only allowed nine hits while striking out 38. His ERA is 0.39 and opposition is batting a feeble .110 against him.
NAIA Top 25 Update
| Rank |
Prev |
NCAA |
State |
Record |
Week |
| 1 |
1 |
Southeastern Fire |
FL |
11-1 |
2-1 |
| 2 |
2 |
Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies |
GA |
10-1 |
3-0 |
| 3 |
3 |
Lewis-Clark State Warriors |
ID |
3-1 |
0-0 |
| 4 |
4 |
William Carey Crusaders |
MS |
7-3 |
2-1 |
| 5 |
9 |
LSU Shreveport Pilots |
LA |
11-1 |
3-0 |
| 6 |
7 |
Cumberlands Patriots |
KY |
6-1 |
4-0 |
| 7 |
8 |
Missouri Baptist Spartans |
MO |
7-3 |
2-0 |
| 8 |
10 |
Faulkner Eagles |
AL |
8-2 |
3-0 |
| 9 |
6 |
Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs |
TN |
6-5 |
2-1 |
| 10 |
12 |
Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes |
KS |
7-2 |
2-1 |
| 11 |
18 |
Vanguard Lions |
CA |
8-4 |
3-0 |
| 12 |
22 |
Doane Tigers |
NE |
6-0 |
2-0 |
| 13 |
24 |
Loyola Wolf Pack |
LA |
9-0 |
3-0 |
| 14 |
25 |
USAO Drovers |
OK |
7-4 |
2-1 |
| 15 |
21 |
Central Methodist Eagles |
MO |
8-2 |
3-1 |
| 16 |
5 |
Bellevue Bruins |
NE |
4-6 |
1-2 |
| 17 |
17 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
IN |
3-2 |
1-1 |
| 18 |
13 |
Concordia Bulldogs |
NE |
2-3 |
1-1 |
| 19 |
14 |
Hope International Royals |
CA |
8-6 |
2-2 |
| 20 |
11 |
Taylor Trojans |
IN |
3-7 |
1-2 |
| 21 |
15 |
Columbia Cougars |
MO |
7-3 |
1-1 |
| 22 |
20 |
Point Park Pioneers |
PA |
5-2 |
1-2 |
| 23 |
23 |
MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers |
KS |
6-4 |
2-0 |
| 24 |
19 |
Benedictine Mesa Redhawks |
AZ |
4-4 |
1-0 |
| 25 |
16 |
Reinhardt Eagles |
GA |
5-6 |
2-2 |
NCAA DIII
With a slew of schools in the northeast, the DIII season is still emerging from hibernation. Only ten of the 25 teams in the rankings have played games so far and not have played more than six. As a result there isn’t much to report. Until March the school’s schedules are pretty thin.
Keep an eye on the Sagehens. Big things were expected for Pomona-Pitzer last year, but they finished a pedestrian 21-19. Maybe 2024 will be the season they emerge. They started the season with a road series win over East Texas Baptist and kept it going at home with a sweep of Linfield.
DIII Top 25 Update
| Rank |
Prev |
NCAA |
State |
Record |
Week |
| 1 |
1 |
Johns Hopkins Blue Jays |
MD |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 2 |
2 |
East Texas Baptist Tigers |
TX |
3-3 |
2-1 |
| 3 |
3 |
Endicott Gulls |
MA |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 4 |
4 |
Shenandoah Hornets |
VA |
3-1 |
1-1 |
| 5 |
5 |
Marietta Pioneers |
OH |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 6 |
6 |
Eastern Connecticut Warriors |
CT |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 7 |
7 |
Rowan Profs |
NJ |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 8 |
8 |
Lynchburg Hornets |
VA |
2-1 |
2-1 |
| 9 |
9 |
Misericordia Cougars |
PA |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 10 |
12 |
Salisbury Seagulls |
MD |
3-0 |
3-0 |
| 11 |
11 |
UW LaCrosse Eagles |
WI |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 12 |
14 |
Christopher Newport Captains |
VA |
4-0 |
4-0 |
| 13 |
13 |
Salve Regina Seahawks |
RI |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 14 |
10 |
Cortland State Red Dragons |
NY |
0-3 |
0-3 |
| 15 |
19 |
Birmingham-Southern Panthers |
AL |
2-1 |
2-1 |
| 16 |
16 |
Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets |
OH |
1-0 |
0-0 |
| 17 |
15 |
Denison Big Red |
OH |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 18 |
17 |
Case Western Reserve Spartans |
OH |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 19 |
18 |
UW-Whitewater Warhawks |
WI |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 20 |
20 |
Aurora Spartans |
IL |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 21 |
21 |
Montclair State Red Hawks |
NJ |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 22 |
22 |
La Verne Leopards |
CA |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 23 |
23 |
Benedictine Eagles |
IL |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| 24 |
24 |
Washington Bears |
MO |
3-0 |
3-0 |
| 25 |
25 |
Buena Vista Beavers |
IA |
2-1 |
2-1 |