By: Jordan A
WHAT’S GOING ON AT THE TOP?
How are the top teams in baseball playing in each division?
Check out the video with Oregon State pitcher Reid Sebby below!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DQBh88BnJzU
- D1 – Tennessee has a 5-game lead for the 1st spot in the SEC East and is still the top dog in D1, but Oregon State is HOT. They’re sitting as the 3rd ranked team in D1 baseball with a 7-game win streak while tied for the top spot in the PAC-12 with Oregon.
- NAIA – The NAIA is nearing the end of its regular season and Southeastern is still at the top with a 38-3 record. Oklahoma City is currently ranked 5th with a 35-3 record (11-game win streak). They have a close 1.5 game lead for the top spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference with 12th ranked Science & Arts with only a couple weeks left.
- D2 – Tampa is still ranked 1st with a 32-6 record in D2 despite some recent losses, but the team that made the biggest jump in the ranks is West Texas A&M, who went from 14th to 5th and sit at the top of the Lone Star Conference.
- D3 – The top 3 teams in D3 baseball are all teams with 4 losses or less: 1. Marietta (27-3), 2. Eastern Connecticut (22-2), and 3. LaGrange (27-4).
- JUCO (NJCAA) – Walters State has a ridiculous 43-3 record with a win streak at 23. 9th ranked Eastern Oklahoma State is 37-1 and 10th ranked Arizona Western is 43-5 coming off 2 losses against 2nd ranked Central Arizona.
- CA JUCO (CCCAA) – 1st ranked Ohlone has the longest winning streak in college baseball with 31. We’re halfway through April and they haven’t lost a game since February 5th to 21st ranked Cypress. The Orange Empire Conference in Southern California has 5 teams in the top 25: 2. Saddleback, 5. Santa Ana, 11. Riverside City, 21. Cypress, and 24. Fullerton.
New top 25 rankings will be coming out this week which means we have some predictions for the near future.
- D1 – The Vols won’t move from 1 for the rest of the season. Texas Tech is 4th but should go down significantly, possibly 10 places, after 4 straight losses to unranked teams. Miami will fall out from 2 but will stay in the top 10 and Oregon State should move from 3 to 2 to take their spot. Virginia Tech should move up a few spots from 21 after taking 2 of 3 from Miami.
- NAIA – Southeastern lost a couple games but the top 3 should stay the same with 1. Southeastern, 2. Tennessee Wesleyan, and 3. LSU Shreveport. America’s team, 4th ranked Lewis-Clark State may switch with 5th ranked Oklahoma City. 6th ranked Westmont should stay, but has an important conference matchup next weekend against currently ranked 8th Vanguard. However, Vanguard will drop out of the top 10 and Hope International will enter as they passed them in a close conference race.
- D2 – 1. Tampa and 2. Wingate will remain in their spots for the rest of the season and the top 5 teams should stay there this week.
- D3 – Birmingham Southern may trade their #4 ranking with LaGrange for the 3 spot. North Central may have a short fall from 8 while Salisbury can take their spot as 8th while Baldwin Wallace falls out of the top 10.
- NJCAA – Walters State just is not losing so they’ll stay at the top. 2nd ranked Central Arizona will likely fall out of their 2nd ranked spot with 4 straight losses to unranked teams, however they swept 10th ranked Arizona Western.
- CCCAA – Ohlone’s winning streak alone should keep them as the 1st ranked team for the remainder of the season. 2nd ranked Saddleback will also stay since they are 9-2 in their last 11, with both losses coming from ranked teams. 8th ranked Mt. SAC should move up from the 8th rank by possibly switching with 7th seed Pasadena City.
Having the chance to speak with Covid Senior RHP Reed Sebby from the 3rd ranked Oregon State Beavers was awesome. He explains what message the Beavers are trying to send to the rest of the country, going a full series without the pitching staff giving up a walk, and their road to win it all in Omaha.