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College  | Rankings | 5/1/2024

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 1

Photo: Blaze O'Saben (GEORGIA GWINNETT ATHLETICS)
The debate between pitching or hitting has been a long standing dispute as to which is more important in winning baseball games. There are numerous narrative examples which are cited by proponents of each side; however they rarely, if ever, convince anyone who’s already settled on one side of the fence. 

Baseball historian and mathematician Bill James developed a statistical calculation in an attempt to help settle the argument and dubbed it the Pythagorean Theorem of Baseball. His numbers concluded that baseball outcomes are primarily influenced by the batters whose production is 45% of the determination of the final score. The percentage of pitchers was only 36%. He also calculated that defense (which is often cited as being the best offense) factors 16% into a team’s winning percentage. The smallest statistical piece of the pie was base running. James’ concluded that prowess on the base paths only factored in 3% to baseball outcomes. 



While attributing a number for base running ability is difficult, the stolen base is the defacto measure. It's not a difficult leap to believe that a team that steals a lot of bases is also fast and makes smart decisions on the base paths.  

James’ calculations were based on MLB statistics, which although primarily has by the same rules as college baseball, is played differently. Judging from the success of some of the top teams in DII, NAIA and DIII baseball, speed is a much greater factor in determining success. 

Along with the latest rankings is a look at some of the top teams in stealing bases. While each of these clubs have plenty of other weapons which help them win games, aggressiveness on the base paths is unquestionably a significant component of their success.

NCAA DII 

Rk School State Record Lst Week Prev Rk
1 Tampa Spartans FL 39-5 2-1 1
2 Central Missouri Mules MO 43-6 3-1 2
3 North Greenville Crusaders SC 40-10 4-0 3
4 Point Loma Sea Lions CA 36-9-1 3-1 4
5 UNC Pembroke Braves NC 38-12 4-0 5
6 St. Leo Lions FL 37-6 3-0 8
7 Young Harris Mountain Lions GA 38-11 2-2 6
8 Millersville Marauders PA 37-9 4-0 12
9 Missouri Southern St. Lions MO 37-13 1-2 9
10 Colorado Mesa Mavericks CO 32-14 3-1 13
11 Augustana Vikings SD 35-8 2-2 7
12 Angelo State Rams TX 34-16 2-2 10
13 Mount Olive Trojans NC 34-14 2-2 11
14 Lander Bearcats SC 37-12 2-1 16
15 Lubbock Christian Chaparrals TX 36-14 4-0 18
16 Catawba Indians NC 37-12 3-0 19
17 Seton Hill Griffins PA 33-12 5-0 20
18 East Stroudsburg Warriors PA 35-9 1-3 14
19 Lee Flames TN 36-14 2-2 17
20 West Chester Golden Rams PA 35-7 3-1 NR
21 West Texas A&M Buffs TX 35-15 2-2 22
22 Ashland Eagles OH 36-9 2-3 15
23 Saginaw Valley State Cardinals MI 32-13 4-1 25
24 Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes GA 33-16 1-2 21
25 Central Oklahoma Bronchos OK 36-12 2-1 NR
DROP Westmont Warriors CA 34-14   23
DROP Barton Bulldogs NC     24


Although stolen bases didn’t factor into Central Missouri’s series win over Missouri Southern last weekend when the two top ten teams met to close the regular season, the steal has been a substantial part of the Mules’ success this year. The Mules have 159 stolen bases in 49 games, which is fifth best in DII. They are averaging just under 3 ¼ stolen bases per game, and in games when they've surpassed that mark, their overall record is 22-1. The only loss was when they stole four bases but were edged 10-9 by Washburn in mid April.

Five times this season Central Missouri stole at least seven bases in a game, including a season high nine against Pittsburg State. In that matchup, a 13-4 victory over the Gorillas, senior outfielder Brennen van Breusegen stole four bases all by himself. Despite his personal crime spree on the base paths that day, van Breusegen is only fifth on the team in steals this spring. The leader is Max Holy who has successfully stolen 28 games in 29 attempts. Of the nine everyday players in their lineup, seven have double-digit totals for stolen bases. Of the other two, one is eight for eight in attempts, and the other is only a semi-regular with 29 starts.

An aggressive outlook on the base paths is nothing new in Warrensburg. The Mules regularly eclipse the century mark in team steals. Their current 159 total matches last year’s final, and the last time they didn’t surpass at least 90 in a full season was a decade ago in 2015 when they finished with 85.

What’s even more remarkable about UCM’s stealing supremacy is that their total would be high if they didn’t hit for so many extra base hits. The Mules have a combined total of 138 home runs and triples which needless to say, makes it difficult to steal a base if you’ve already scored or are already on third base.

The use of the stolen base to translate to success is not limited to Central Missouri. Seven other teams in the DII Perfect Game DII Top 25 are currently in the top twenty overall in stolen bases. St. Leo and Millersville, with 157 and 147 stolen bases respectively are in the top ten, with Angelo State, Catawba, Lander, Seton Hill and UNC Pembroke also all have at least 111 stolen bases so far. 

NAIA

Rk School State Record Lst Week Prev Rk
1 Southeastern Fire FL 44-6 3-1 1
2 Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies GA 42-6 3-0 2
3 Cumberlands Patriots KY 44-6 4-1 3
4 Webber International Warriors FL 40-10 1-1 4
5 Missouri Baptist Spartans MO 36-9-1 3-0-1 5
6 Central Methodist Eagles MO 42-7 4-0 6
7 LSU Shreveport Pilots LA 39-7 4-0 7
8 Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes KS 41-8 3-0 8
9 Lewis-Clark State Warriors ID 35-9 4-0 9
10 Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs TN 33-15 3-0 13
11 William Carey Crusaders MS 30-14 3-0 15
12 William Jessup Warriors CA 36-9 0-0 12
13 Hope International Royals CA 35-12 0-1 10
14 Mid-America Christian Evangels OK 36-10 4-0 17
15 Faulkner Eagles AL 33-14 1-2 11
16 Bellevue Bruins NE 36-12 2-1 14
17 Reinhardt Eagles GA 35-14 4-0 19
18 Loyola Wolf Pack LA 35-15 0-3 16
19 Taylor Trojans IN 37-13 4-0 22
20 Oklahoma City Stars OK 32-15 3-1 20
21 Doane Tigers NE 35-11 2-2 18
22 Concordia Bulldogs NE 37-12 4-0 21
23 Ottawa (OUAZ) Spirit AZ 32-15 1-0 25
24 Benedictine Mesa Redhawks AZ 31-13 0-1 23
25 Tabor Bluejays KS 34-12 2-1 24


While base stealing isn’t quite the rage among the top teams in the NAIA, there are a number of teams of which it is a primary weapon in their offensive arsenal. Like Central Missouri in DII, an aggressive approach on the basepaths has long been a tactic embraced by Georgia Gwinnett to make them one of their division’s top teams. Over the three prior seasons GGC averaged 225 stolen bases per season. That average will increase this year as the Grizzlies are easily outpacing NAIA competition with an astonishing 269 stolen bases in only 48 games. That’s a preposterous rate of over 5.6 stolen bases per contest. GGC has seven players who have stolen no fewer than twenty bases as they’ve compiled yet another lopsided winning season with a 42-6 record so far and have spent the entire spring as the second ranked team. 

The Grizzlies top thief is their leading hitter Blaze O’Saben. In addition to topping the team with a .429 batting average and 10 triples, he also has stolen 46 bases while only being caught once. Interestingly the senior has only a total of 33 swipes his first two seasons at GGC in 109 games. Other primary contributors to their total include Ajay Sczepkowski who has stolen no fewer than 35 bases the past two seasons and Joe Quelch who has upped his total from 19 last season to a current mark of 41. 

The Grizzlies are also able to up the stolen base total thanks to the NAIA’s unique courtesy runner rule. Teams have the option to use a runner for the pitcher, designated hitter or catcher at any time. Peyton Peoples has appeared in 42 games this season, almost exclusively in that role. In doing so he has stolen 34 bases in 40 attempts as well as scored 62 times. Although perhaps he should bat more - he has three hits in five at bats this spring.

Other teams currently in the Perfect Game NAIA Top 25 who are among the top twenty-five in stolen bases include Loyola (173 SBs), LSU-Shreveport (121) and top ranked Southeastern (114).

NCAA DIII 

Rk School State Record Lst Week Prev Rk
1 Endicott Gulls MA 33-2 5-0 1
2 East Texas Baptist Tigers TX 34-6 3-0 3
3 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays MD 29-9 4-1 4
4 Salisbury Seagulls MD 28-7 2-1 2
5 Denison Big Red OH 31-5 3-1 5
6 Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets OH 31-6 3-1 6
7 UW-Whitewater Warhawks WI 30-6 3-1 8
8 Salve Regina Seahawks RI 29-5 5-0 9
9 Rowan Profs NJ 24-11 4-1 10
10 Trinity Tigers TX 30-10 3-1 13
11 Case Western Reserve Spartans OH 30-9 3-1 14
12 Cortland State Red Dragons NY 24-10-1 3-1 15
13 Christopher Newport Captains VA 23-8 2-1 11
14 La Verne Leopards CA 25-9-1 4-0 16
15 Lynchburg Hornets VA 25-14 3-1 18
16 Misericordia Cougars PA 29-9 3-1 20
17 Eastern Connecticut Warriors CT 23-11 1-3 7
18 Penn State Harrisburg Lions PA 31-7 5-0 NR
19 UW LaCrosse Eagles WI 24-11 3-2 12
20 Aurora Spartans IL 27-9 4-1 21
21 Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens CA 26-11 1-2 17
22 Shenandoah Hornets VA 25-13 3-1 24
23 Transylvania Pioneers KY 30-6 4-0 NR
24 Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets VA 25-11 2-2 23
25 Montclair State Red Hawks NJ 26-13 0-4 19
DROP Benedictine Eagles IL 25-9 1-3 22
DROP Cal Lutheran Kingsmen CA     25

As prevalent as the stolen is used effectively to win games at the DII and NAIA level, the results don’t translate over to DIII.  The only teams in the Perfect Game DIII Top 25 which are in the top thirty-five in stolen bases are East Texas Baptist and Denison. The Tigers’ total of 108 in 40 games positions them just inside the top twenty. The Big Red’s 93 stolen bases in 36 games has them tied for 35th. It's  perhaps interesting to note both of these two teams are in the top five of the DIII rankings. 

For ETBU, five of the six everyday players who have at least 100 at bats have double-digit stolen bases. The only one who doesn’t could make it there by season’s end as he’s seven for eight in attempts. The Tigers are led by Jacob Evangelista who has 28 this season and stole 32 in 2023. Denison’s top threat is junior outfielder Eric Colaco who has 29 in 32 attempts.

Unlike Central Missouri and Georgia Gwinnett, ETBU and Denison are fairly new to utilizing stolen bases to win games. The addition of an aggressive attack seems to be paying off for each of them. Over the past three years each of them have stolen an increasing number of bases. During that time frame each of them have also won an increasing number of games. Denison went from 47 stolen bases with a 27-13 record in 2021 to a 36-10 record with a total of 124 swipes last year. ETBU stole 73 bases in 2021 and won 29 games. Their win total improved to 42 last year as they reached the century mark with 101 total steals. 

College | Recruiting | 12/22/2025

Recruiting Notebook: December 22

Jheremy Brown
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Lucien Saint Cyr, INF, Class of 2026 Commitment: Bucknell Saint Cyr announced his pledge to Bucknell, giving the Bison an interesting blend of present tools and projection. Saint Cyr stands 6-foot-1 and offers room to fill in his medium frame, profiling in the middle infield defensively. The New York product starts wide at the base in the right-handed box, keeping his hands high behind the ear. He works into a subtle outward step load, firing through a compact barrel that showcases bat speed and gap-to-gap impact. For head coach Scott Heather and Bucknell, they land a high-quality Northeast infielder in the ’26 cycle, adding to a class that takes the quality over quantity approach. Patrick Diaz ('26, NY) 102 EV off the bat. Impact to the pull side. #PGNational @PGMidAtlantic @PG_Uncommitted pic.twitter.com/NN0L3FRdO9 — PG Showcases (@PGShowcases) July 9, 2025 Patrick Diaz,...
Draft | Rankings | 12/23/2025

Top 2028 Collegiate Draft Prospects

Vincent Cervino
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The college players in the 2028 draft class have yet to step on campus, but they're positioned to make an immediate impact. Several high end talents either turned down significant money last year or honored strong college commitments, resulting in their arrival on campus this fall. The class is currently led by a trio of high-upside arms in Jack Bauer, Angel Cervantes, and Cameron Appenzeller. They are followed by a deep group of bats that rounds out a strong, high end Top-10. Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State 1 Jack Bauer C LHP L-L Mississippi State Frankfort IL 2 Angel Cervantes C RHP R-R UCLA Lynwood CA 3 Cameron Appenzeller C LHP L-L Tennessee Springfield IL 4 Brayden Jaksa C C R-R Oregon Fremont  CA 5 JD Stein C SS R-R Wake Forest Carmel IN 6 Mason Ligenza C OF L-L Pittsburgh Brockton PA 7 Ty Peeples C OF L-R Georgia Lavonia GA 8 Lucas Franco C SS L-R TCU Katy TX 9...
Juco | Story | 12/23/2025

2025 Year in Review: JUCO

Blaine Peterson
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Looking Back at the 2025 Top 10  Matt Barr (‘25 Niagara, ‘26 Minnesota Twins) Bursting onto the scene last winter, footage of an indoor bullpen rocketed Barr onto the radar of many. Explosive fastball reaches near triple digits with incredible spin numbers across the secondaries. Huge numbers at Niagara earned him the title of the first Juco player drafted in 2025. JC Vanek (‘25 Chipola, ‘26 Kansas City Royals) Just a professional hitter. Vanek for two years at Chipola was an impossible out. While there are questions if the power will ever reach what it takes to play first base at the big league level, the bat and quality defensive skillset at first base may carry. Donovan Becerra (‘25 New Mexico, ‘26 Texas Tech) One of the more high octane arms anywhere in the country last year. Can reach back for upper 90’s and has shown serious swing and...
Draft | Story | 12/22/2025

2025 Year in Review: Draft

Isaiah Burrows
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2025 Year in Review: Draft We’ve reached the end of the 2025 calendar year, and while we’ve already jumped in on the 2026 cycle with some of the fall events and post-draft content we’ve had here at Perfect Game, there’s still one more piece on the docket, and that’s the 2025 Year-In-Review piece here from the PG Draft staff.  The 2025 MLB Draft took place in July, when many highly talented players heard their names called and continued their journey through the game to the next level. There’s already been some of those names making noise in the minors and guys who are moving up prospect lists and becoming names to know for MLB fans digging deep into the future of their organizations. While we are going to “close the book” on 2025 with this article, these players still have many years ahead of them, and many blank pages to continue...
High School | General | 12/19/2025

Huntington Beach HS World Series Recap

Steve Fiorindo
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MVPitcher: Duncan McLeod The uncommitted junior toed the slab in three of the four games for Team Mick, tossing 3 2/3 innings.  Zero walks, zero hits and 6 punchouts for the lefty who was used both as a starter in the series clinching game 4 and he closed out game 3 on Friday in quick fashion.  McLeod was very efficient as well, needing just 42 pitches over all his outings.  In the game 4 start, over two innings he punched out 3, with one strikeout with all of his offerings.  The mid 80’s fastball regularly played up, set up with efficient use of the secondaries, with the breaking ball 73/74 and fading change-up 72-74.   Owen Bone (2026) at it again... Solo shot in the 5th to tie things up. Back to back days with a home run for Bone. #PGHS pic.twitter.com/2JC9qETI5h — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) December 13, 2025 MV Hitter: ...
Tournaments | Story | 12/19/2025

13u Tourney All-American Team

Jheremy Brown
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What a year it was in 2025 on the national landscape at the 13u level as Perfect Game continues to expand its reach around the country, providing an even bigger schedule of events coast-to-coast which has allowed players all over show out and gain their deserved recognition. Whether in Texas for the Houston 1000 or the 13u WWBA in West Palm Beach, we saw huge, eye opening performances from the players placed below, knowing that we could EASILY build a third team and likely a fourth without much effort.  As we do every year with this exercise, it's worth pointing out the trickiness of this age group and putting the teams together with the 13u group. While the players are all members of the Class of 2030, some are younger for the grade, which allowed them to play at the 12u level where's it's a smaller field, shorter mound distance and different bats, so we'll separate them out and...
Tournaments | Story | 12/18/2025

14u Tourney All-American Team

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...
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