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College  | Rankings  | 1/20/2021

Top 25 JUCO Team Breakdowns

Brian Sakowski      Colton Olinger     
Photo: Dax Fellows (CSN Athletics)
2021 Perfect Game Preseason JUCO Top 25 
 
Rk. School City State
1 College of Southern Nevada Las Vegas NV
2 Wabash Valley Mount Carmel IL
3 Central Arizona Coolidge AZ
4 McLennan Waco TX
5 Crowder Neosho MO
6 Grayson Denison TX
7 LSU-Eunice Eunice LA
8 Northwest Florida State Niceville FL
9 Walters State Morristown TN
10 Chipola Marianna FL
11 Eastern Oklahoma State Wilburton OK
12 College of Central Florida Ocala FL
13 John A. Logan Carterville IL
15 San Jacinto Houston TX
15 Johnson County Overland Park KS
16 Pearl River Poplarville MS
17 Iowa Western Council Bluffs IA
18 Cowley Arkansas City KS
19 Florida SouthWestern Fort Myers FL
20 State College of Florida Brandenton FL
21 Chattahoochee Valley Phenix City AL
22 Jefferson College Hillsboro MO
23 Parkland Champaign IL
24 Yavapai Prescott AZ
25 Kirkwood Cedar Rapids IA


| READ: CSN TOPS JUCO RANKS TO START YEAR |



1. Southern Nevada

Our preseason No. 1 team, Southern Nevada is a loaded, veteran club filled with high-end prospects and future Division-I players who are battle-tested. The arms stand out right away, as right-handers Josh Swales, Kris Bow, and Johnny Cuevas lead the way as legitimate draft prospects as well as three major pieces of the staff. Swales and Cuevas will start for sure, with Bow either in the rotation with them or at the backend of the bullpen for Nick Garritano’s club. Trey Frahm is a freshman with huge stuff who has really made strides with his feel and command and will be counted on heavily, he’s joined by Sam Page, Izzy Gutierrez, and Austin Raleigh as major players.

Offensively, it’s as loaded as ever. Dax Fellows returns for his third year in the desert to lead the way and should play shortstop and hit near the top of the lineup. He’s joined as a major offensive piece by Damiano Palmegiani at third base, who is as toolsed-out as they come in JUCO baseball, as well as sluggers Austin Plante and Justin Olson. Jacob Godman is one of the best catch-and-throw backstops in JUCO and he does a wonderful job handling those talented arms, while true freshman Colby Smith will play second base and is seemingly the shortstop-in-waiting. Cuevas is a two-way threat and will hit in the top half of the lineup for CSN, and Joey Walls in left field will give them more and more speed both defensively and on the bases. This is our National Championship pick, right here.

2. Wabash Valley

Another perennial powerhouse, this time of the Midwest, Rob Fournier’s club looks loaded once more heading into 2021. The depth of the pitching staff stands out amongst many other strengths, with Jason Bollman, Connor Oliver, Zac Robinson, and Colin Czajkowski all expected to potentially be rotation pieces—as well as all expected to be Power 5 arms a year from now. Stephen Pelli and Ryan Sleeper represent talented, but somewhat unproven arms who can really lengthen out the staff, while freshman Keegan Batka has huge upside in his right arm and is already reaching towards the upper-90s. It’s a staff that should be able to pitch with anyone in the country.

Offensively, there’s a lot to like about the steadying presence of the veterans dotting the everyday lineup. Savier Pinales and Freylin Minyety are back to lock down the middle infield and do so with tremendous defensive prowess that works well in tandem. The outfield is strong throughout also, with high-end tools and athleticism highlighting the position. Hylan Hall, Curtis Washington Jr. and Kyle Westfall represent maybe the fastest, most athletic outfield overall in JUCO baseball, not to mention that all three can run the ball out of the yard at the plate as well. Coach Fournier is really excited about what freshman slugger Ryan McCoy is going to bring to the middle of the lineup as well, as a left-handed bat who had a huge fall.

3. Central Arizona

Even though it’s been nearly two years, the Vaqueros are still indeed the defending champions of the NJCAA D-I, having won the JUCO World Series the last time there was a JUCO World Series, back in 2019. They look poised for another run once more in 2021, with a veteran-laden pitching staff ready to do work. Mat Olsen returns as the staff ace following flirtation with MLB last summer, he’s joined in the rotation by fellow veterans Hunter Omlid, who came down from Boise State, Tyler Woessner and potentially a few others. DJ Carpenter is a high-draft candidate who could start or lock down the backend of the bullpen; watch out for Cristian Sanchez and Leo Palacios to fill big roles if the strikes gain consistency.

Offensively, it’s the Dayton Dooney show, as the former Arizona Wildcat has seemingly separated himself from the pack as far as JUCO bats are concerned—he might well be the best one in the country. Returner Kiko Romero will play a huge role as will transfer JD McLaughlin, who is absolutely loaded with tools and twitch and should actually both hit and pitch for CAC, as he’s been into the mid-90s off the bump in bullpen settings. Jake Jarvis is expected to be a middle order presence, and the combo platter of Seth Beckstead and Hayden Seldomridge behind the plate has the coaching staff pleased with the position overall.

4. McLennan

Another loaded McLennan team for Head Coach Mitch Thompson, one with a good combination of present ability, veteran leadership, and exciting young talent. Riggs Threadgill looks like the staff ace, healthy and throwing missiles in the mid-90s. He’s joined in the rotation by Brady Rose and Logan Henderson to form an excellent triumvirate of starters. Jared Matheson, Gray Harrison, and Will Carsten look like very high-upside freshmen, and the veteran duo of Landry Wideman and Kevin Skweres will be counted on heavily as well.

Offensively, Garrett Martin is one of the best bats in JUCO baseball, with good feel to hit as well as tremendous righthanded power. Miguel Santos plays second base and can just flat out hit, he’ll be a major piece. Some transfers should be big pieces right away, including Dominic Tamez from Arkansas who should swing it as well as be in the mix behind the plate as well as Mason Greer from Auburn who should see time on the infield corners and be a major piece of the lineup. Hand Bard and Alex Lopez are returning players who Coach Thompson believes will be counted right from the get-go.

5. Crowder

Crowder, simply put, looks absolutely loaded and got even better over the break. Jacob Misiorowski has some of the best pure upside in the JUCO class overall, he leads the way on the mound and has a chance to be unbeatable. Dylan Carter is signed with Arkansas and provides another high-octane rotation arm for Head Coach Travis Lallemand, and he’s joined in the rotation by returners Kaleb Hill and Gage Singer, both of whom are expected to be big pieces. Cole Agemy transferred to Crowder when Richland College’s season was cancelled just days ago, he’s a high-octane guy who can get into the upper-90s with a banger of a breaker, he just needs to throw consistent strikes for the first time, and fellow power arms Axel Camacho and Treshon Paschal should be solid bullpen pieces.

Offensively, it’s hard not to like the athleticism that this team will bring to the ballpark every day. Elite runner Clayton Gray joins the club from Arkansas, he joins Landrey Wilkerson in an outfield that should cover a ton of ground. Josh Patrick is expected to be a big left-handed power bat that does damage, while Frankie Circello is one of the top-hitting DHs in JUCO ball overall. Newcomer Jeffry Mercado reminds the coaching staff in a big way of Freylin Cabrera, one of the better shortstops in all of JUCO during his time at Crowder, and that both excite Crowder fans and terrify Crowder opponents.


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