The DII baseball elite had themselves quite the week. The D2 Baseball top 25 went a combined 76-22, while the top six of last week’s DII baseball Power 10 rankings went 22-2. All that is to say there wasn’t much change at the top in this week’s rankings.
That said, we do have a new team entering the mix. West Chester has been my pick for the Atlantic Region since the preseason, and the Golden Rams’ hot start sees them enter the top 10. As with last week, picking a top 25 is extremely hard as there are roughly 34 deserving teams. You could honestly make a case that a large portion of the top 25 hails from the Southeast Region alone, which makes things even trickier on the national level.
Remember, these Power 10 rankings are not voted upon; it is just me, my spreadsheets and hours of watching what’s happening on the field. I do take other ratings into consideration — such as Faktor Sports KPI, both of Inkblot Sports RPI and PI and Pear Ratings NET — to get as much input as possible for a ranking that leaves no stone unturned and no metric ignored. It is very rarely identical to the national polls, so I try to explain the rationale in as much detail as I can.
DII baseball Power 10 rankings through March 22
No. 1 Pittsburg State | Previous: 1. The Gorillas won another weekend series, this time downing Central Oklahoma, putting the Bronchos below .500 and really threatening their tournament chances. They also took down Drury, a team that has been tricky on top 25 teams in midweek matchups. Dagen Brewer had another big weekend, starting things off with a two-home-run game and is now second in DII with 54 RBIs. The Gorillas are loaded with All-Conference, and likely All-Region, talent in both the lineup and rotation, and with that big series win against Central Missouri, seem to be cruising towards an MIAA title.
No. 2 Tampa | Previous: 2. The Spartans had a big weekend, sweeping Palm Beach Atlantic and outscoring the Sailfish 35-6. Robert Satin was strong again, with five innings pitched, allowing zero runs while striking out eight and walking none. He improved his record to 7-0 while lowering his ERA to 0.20 and his WHIP to 0.61 with a 12.6 strikeout-per-nine rate. Satin will make it tough to beat Tampa in short playoff-bracket situations, setting up arguably the best pitching staff in DII for victory, so this team is in great shape once again.
No. 3 Colorado Mesa | Previous: 3. Remember, when it comes tournament time, only DII games matter. The Mavericks walloped Colorado Christian in a four-game sweep this weekend, scoring 57 runs in the process, and extended their DII winning streak to 25 games. Their only loss in the last 26 contests was to Division I Utah Valley by just two runs. How about the tear that Kolby Felix is on? The outfielder has hit in 13-straight games, raising his average from .281 to .373, hitting six home runs and driving in 17 over that span. Still, the differentiator this season for the Mavericks remains the pitching, especially the breakout of freshman Jackson Eisenhauer who is now 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 30 strikeouts to just four walks in 27.2 innings pitched.
No. 4 Catawba | Previous: 4. The Indians added to an already impressive tournament resume this past week. They dominated a midweek game against a 19-9 UNC Pembroke team that was very much in the hunt for a final spot in the Southeast Region before taking two of three from nationally ranked Wingate. Dissecting that Wingate series a bit further, Catawba won its two games by a combined score of 25-3 while losing the one game by two runs in extra innings. With wins against Lenoir-Rhyne, Francis Marion, Belmont Abbey, Carson-Newman, and now, UNC Pembroke and Wingate, Catawba is showing it is a force to be reckoned with in the tricky Southeast.
No. 5 North Greenville | Previous: 5. The Trailblazers rebounded from a tough 1-4 week by picking up some significant wins for their tournament resume. They took down defending Peach Belt tournament champion, Lander before edging out nationally ranked North Georgia in a pair of midweek matchups. They then dominated Southern Wesleyan in a weekend sweep. C.J. Dean and Josh Foulks are two of DII’s best hitters and will make it a nightmare on opposing pitchers for the rest of the season.
No. 6 Central Missouri | Previous: 6. While the Mules swept through Arkansas-Fort Smith over the weekend, it was a big midweek win over surging Northwest Missouri State that keeps Central Missouri high in the conversation. Now 23-5, the Mules have a very tough road ahead with a midweeker against Washburn, followed by a midweek rematch against Northwest Missouri State, a three-game series against first-place Rogers State followed by another midweek rematch against a Drury team that already beat them. If this team comes out of that stretch above water and looking strong, they have a chance to take over first place in the MIAA and remain contenders for Cary once again.
No. 7 Cal State Monterey Bay | Previous: 8. It took 11 innings, but you can now make it eight in a row for the Otters. They are dominating the selection metrics, sitting at No. 1 in both RPI and PI in the West Region, No. 6 in KPI and No. 7 in NET. They also have a tremendous series edge over Point Loma which, if things stay as they are, will get the Otters the host seed in the West Region right now. Small College Baseball Player of the Year candidate James Starkus had a monster weekend, going 5-for-14, homering in three-straight games while driving in six.
No. 8 Lenoir-Rhyne | Previous: 7. The Bears could have used that midweek win over Belmont Abbey, but, as with Cal State Monterey Bay, the metrics are in the Bears’ favor to keep them among the top 10. They have the No. 4 NET, the No. 5 KPI, and No. 1 RPI and PI in the Southeast Region, a region that has three teams in the top 10. The Bears have some serious hitters once again with Matt Procopio, Seth Christmas, Mackenzie Wainwright, and Sylas Boris that, should the Bears make another deep run, could power them all the way to Cary. If they can get the ball to closer Jack Renaud, they are in pretty good shape. He’s already recorded seven saves with a 1.08 ERA and 0.90 WHIP.
No. 9 Point Loma | Previous: 9. Azusa Pacific snuck by the Sea Lions by one run in the first game of a Friday doubleheader, snapping Point Loma’s 20-game winning streak. The Sea Lions responded by pummeling the Cougars in three-straight games, defeating them by a combined score of 42-17. Ace Derek Silva has had back-to-back worrisome starts, but the offense is cooking, especially Josiah Rodriguez, who is on a 15-game hitting streak.
No. 10 West Chester | Previous: Next up. The Golden Rams are now 16-3. They certainly have some head-turning stats. Their pitching staff has been nothing sort of sensational; all three regular starters have an ERA below 3.80, and as a combined staff they have posted a 3.13 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, .229 batting average against and five shutouts, including a no-hitter from Julian Costa. They also have the metrics, sitting at No. 1 in RPI and No. 2 in PI in the Atlantic Region, No. 4 in KPI and somehow 31 in NET. The Golden Rams have done all this against the third-toughest SoS in the Atlantic Region and No. 30 SoS in all DII. Take your pick, there are plenty of places to point as to why the Golden Rams are now top 10 material.
Next up (in alphabetical order)
Because of the depth we have right now in DII baseball, which, by the way, is great for the sport, the traditional “first five out” has been expanded to “next up,” showing the next 10-12 teams in the mix. Unless any of these teams absolutely collapse, you can expect to see this expanded section for the remainder of the season. Notice there are four more Southeast Region teams here.
Trevecca Nazaren is a team to watch as the Trojans continue to rise with impressive wins. They have a series win over West Florida, a series win over North Greenville, and took two of three from Mississippi College this weekend. While Grand Valley State was the preseason pick for the Midwest Region (and still looks very much the part) Wayne State (MI) is also surging up the rankings. Both of these teams are in the 15-20 range of selection metrics, but a few more wins and they will both be considered for top 10 rankings.
- Augustana (SD)
- Belmont Abbey
- Grand Valley State
- Minnesota State
- North Georgia
- Trevecca Nazarene
- UT Tyler
- Wayne State (MI)
- West Florida
- Wingate
- Young Harris
The best of the rest: Here are the rest of the teams that received consideration this week, giving us a grand total of 35 outstanding teams in DII baseball right now: Angelo State, Cal Poly Pomona, Eckerd, Emporia State, Florida Southern, Francis Marion, Millersville, Rogers State, Rollins, Seton Hill, Slippery Rock, St. Mary’s (TX), West Alabama, Westmont
