The latest DII baseball Power 10 rankings

This is the toughest DII Baseball Power 10 ranking in a long time, which usually bodes well for a great season. While the Big Three – North Greenville, Tampa and Angelo State – can’t be denied, places 4-15 are as close as it gets.

What’s different from DII baseball, and why it’s important to watch weekly, is how many games are played between each leaderboard. It can drastically change the top 10 in just a few innings it’s played this week.

FLASHBACK: Check out last week’s Power 10

So what are some of the things that are changing these rankings so quickly? Well, we now have a larger sample size for each team (not just those lucky enough to start in the first week of February), so win percentage matters, as does schedule strength. Those are two very big pieces in the RPI (along with the opponent’s win rate), so our picture gets a bit clearer too.

So, yes, teams like Southern Arkansas, Lenoir-Rhyne and Cal State San Bernardino fell to the first five out this week, but it’s as close as it’s ever been and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if that were the case Coaster, which is this year’s Power 10, continues next week.

This is your weekly reminder that this is my ranking and only mine. Unlike a coach poll or the regional leaderboards, I try to mix a bit of both to give you a snapshot. That means I’ll use the good old eye test, but factor in the metrics the selection committee uses in May (things like schedule strength, region records, and records against ranked opponents, to name a few). This also helps in creating my weekly Field of 56 predictions for the DII baseball championship class.

The third DII Baseball Power 10 ranking for the 2023 season

(Aall games until March 19)

#1 North Greenville | Back: 1: The Crusaders are a finely tuned machine at the moment, and with Marek Chlup back from the World Baseball Classic, all the pieces of the potential rerun are back together. Chlup won 4-10 over the weekend, a streak that saw the Crusaders outscore their opponent 34-3. This is the best team in DII baseball right now but they have a great run against UNC Pembroke this weekend so they don’t have time to rest.

#2 Tampa | Back: 2: The Spartans started their week with a loss to national-ranked Valdosta State but ended the week on a big statement by defeating national-ranked Florida Southern. Tampa has a win ratio of .833 versus an SOS of .561, so its RPI is clearly on par with North Greenville. EJ Cumbo and JD Urso hit pretty much anything that comes their way, and the pitching team has led the way to an 11-2 record in one of the toughest regions in DII baseball. The schedule doesn’t let up as Nova Southeastern, Rollins, another midweeker against Valdosta State and Florida Tech are all on deck.

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#3 Angelo State | Back: 3: The Rams are just a statistical juggernaut at this point. They’re second in DII and hitting .359 as a team with a .476 on-base percentage while averaging 10.4 runs per game – fourth best in DII. They also rank third in fielding percentage, which allows these pitchers to connect and have confidence in their fielders. Mason Bryant is a strikeout machine at 13.50 per nine, but Kade Bragg and Aaron Munson have been pretty dominant in seven starts so far.

No. 4 Quincy | Back: 6: The Hawks are rolling and after a wild opening game in their GLVC schedule, they’ve settled in and won their last three straight games. They have one of the best win rates against the second-toughest SOS in DII baseball, so there’s no question that this is the team to beat in the Midwest right now. Lance Logsdon just became the Hawks’ career leader in homers, but Luke Napleton (10 homers), Nolan Wosman (seven homers) and Austin Simpson (six homers) lead the way for this strong offense that has proven 151 runs earned in 18 Play. We still have to see consistency in the starting rotation, but the offensive can prevail for the time being.

5 Montevallo | Back: 7: The Falcons are now 21-4 and have won four straight games. They have an 11-3 record in the south region, an impressive feat in their own right, and have played an SOS well over .500. Statistically, that offense can top Sam Kuchinski (.434, 1.422 OPS, seven doubles, nine homers) and Luke Mitchell (.407, 1.323 OPS, eight doubles and five homers), but Ben Teel and Asa have Awbrey providing plenty extra pop. The starting rotation has a number of strikeout artists, so this is easily one of the more well-rounded teams in DII baseball.

No. 6 Millersville| Previous: “First Five Out”: The Marauders’ yo-yo ride in and out of the Power 10 continues this year, shooting back to six this week amid a six-game winning streak. While I still want to see how they react to the tougher schedule, this team is undefeated in the Atlantic Region game and clearly the team to beat in a part of the country that seemingly features in the Championship every two years. Starting rotation will be key as Carson Kulina, Ben Wilchacky and Alex Mykut currently have a solid combined ERA of 2.74 and 103 strikeouts in 105.1 innings.

#7 Rollins | Back: 10 (tie): Another weekend, which means another win in a row. This one went up against SSC foe Florida Tech, which is no easy feat. Parker Smith (nine homers) is on track to break last year’s 11, and like last year, Jeslyn Whitehead is showing great hit-to-ball ability and is currently hitting a .379. Pitching needs to be more consistent, especially given the nightmare stretch the Tars face back-to-back in Barry, Florida Southern, Tampa, Eckerd and Colorado Mesa. We will soon learn a lot about this team.

No. 8 Illinois Springfield | Back: 8: If you take the season’s opening streak away, the Prairie Stars are 15-3, which isn’t bad for a team that was expected to go through a bit of a rebuild period. Ryan Carmack continues to lead DII with a whopping 19.04 strikeouts per nine, but Chad Saner and Connor McKenna are also big strikeout pitchers. It will be difficult to beat UIS in GLVC, making the upcoming Quincy showdown even more exciting.

No. 9 State of Columbus | Back: 4: I can see this doesn’t make sense to some as USC Aiken is so hot and lost the series last weekend, but let’s not forget that the combined score of the entire series was 9-8. All three games were decided by a run, and the Cougars may recall that later when the two are likely to meet again. The Cougars are still a very good and balanced baseball team with a solid overall record. With two strong teams in West Florida and Young Harris ahead in the coming weeks, the Cougars are in must-win mode to stay in this ranking and also in the competitive Southeast Region rankings.

No. 10 (tie) West Georgia, Wingate | Back: “First five out” or “Only missed”: Wingate swept Lenoir-Rhyne last weekend, knocking his SAC rivals off the Power 10 and taking their place. It’s been a bumpy ride for the former national champions so far, with victories over Lenoir-Rhyne and Charleston (WV) but crucial midweek defeats to regional opponents Mount Olive and UNC Pembroke. Still, there are many veterans on this team that make them scary.

We just can’t ignore the wolves right now. They have one of the best records in the division, a tough SOS and a huge win streak against Lee and Valdosta State that they tick all the postseason boxes. Add in Anthony Calabro, who shows no signs of slowing down on the record at all, and this is a finely tuned machine at the moment.

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The first five(ish) out:

I said it was close. There are a few additional teams this week.

• Arkansas Technology: Call me crazy but this team has played one of the toughest schedules in all of DII and sits at 19-7 to show it. The Wonder Boys also have a string of signature victories against potential tournament teams like Southern Arkansas, Central Missouri, Chico State and a string of Henderson State.
• State of San Bernardino: The Coyotes are ok so don’t be fooled if they slide out of the Power 10. A nice test is coming at Cal Poly Pomona after the series split with a sneaky San Francisco State team. This lineup has a seemingly perfect blend of power and contact hitters.
• East Stroudsburg: What separates PSAC opponents West Chester and the Warriors are decimal points, and that narrow margin cancels each other out to secure a spot in the top 10. That said, this is a 17-3-ball club that already has a dominating swing from SNHU this year, which ranks them higher than the Golden Rams for now.
• Lenoir-Rhyne: It’s been a tough weekend for the Bears, but they still have some of the better tournament stats in the region. That tells you what kind of schedule they played. Based on the talent this team has in all aspects of the game, I won’t let it sink any further…for now.
• Southern Arkansas: The Muleriders are a strong 18-7 and bounced back from a Henderson State sweep with their own Southern Nazarene sweep and scored 40 runs in the three-game affair. This team has experienced hitting and solid starting pitching. With a few more wins, they’ll be back in the Power 10.
• St Edwards: The Hilltoppers continue to scrap signature wins within the LSC and are adding UT Tyler to the streak win list this weekend. Connor Cox was great on the plate, hitting .429 with five homers while Luke Short anchored the rotation, now 5-0 with a 2.57 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 42 innings.
• USC Aiken: We have to watch out for the Pacers, especially after their recent series win over PBC opponents Columbus State. Another big series against Young Harris awaits this weekend and a sweep could propel her into the Power 10. This team pulls it off with balance in all aspects of the game.

Just missed (in alphabetical order)

• Charleston (WV)
• colorado mesa
• Florida South
• Hawaii Hilo
• Mountain Olive
• State of Minnesota
• Missouri South
• MSU Denver
• Point Loma
• Southern New Hampshire
• State of Valdosta
• State of Wayne (MI)
• West Chester