There is one more week before the DII baseball tournament selections are announced as things are shaping up for the bracket. Some teams wrapped up their regular seasons and are ready for the conference tournaments, while others were unexpectedly bounced early from theirs. Because of that, there were some changes in the latest Power 10 rankings.
This is the hardest week of the season to rank DII baseball teams. Some teams didn't play at all. Some played just a couple games and are in the middle of conference tournaments. Does losing one tournament game, even if it was in upset fashion, determine an entire season? Does being the top seed and having the weekend off drop you in the rankings when other teams above you utterly dominated? Those were all questions that had to be answered this week.
DII BASEBALL 2025
📊 The previous Power 10
⚾️ Ashland baseball's John Schaly talks bats, balls, and his record-setting win
🔮 Wayne's way-too-early guesses on the eight for Cary
🏆 Tampa looks to set the record for most DII baseball championships
These weekly Power 10 rankings at NCAA.com, as well as my weekly "Field of 56" projections at the DII Report, are not a simple equation based solely on metrics, nor is it voted upon by a body of people around the game. It is a combination of both, weighing what is happening on the field with what is happening on paper. My weekly disclaimer: DII baseball is the longest sports of them all and teams play each other three to four times on a weekend. Wins and losses do not necessarily define a team. It is the quality of wins and losses that matter. Expecting a team to sweep every weekend is simply irrational.
The DII baseball Power 10 rankings (Week ending May 4)
No. 1 Tampa | Previous: 1 (tied). The Spartans dismantled Barry this past weekend by a combined score of 38-12 in a three-game sweep. That should lock up the SSC and secure Tampa's spot in the tournament — not that it was in question anyway. The Spartans have played the 15th-toughest SoS in DII, have the second-best RPI and the top PI and KPI in all DII. They have also won 17 in a row and are clearly the No. 1 team in the land.
No. 2 Angelo State | Previous: 1 (tied). Nothing has changed with how good this Rams team is. And that is why Tampa was able to break the three-week tie at the top. The Rams haven't played a game since April 25. While they are still on an 11-game winning streak and have one of the best offenses in the land, Tampa separated itself in the metrics while Angelo State has been idle. This is still one of two or three teams that feel like they are Cary bound already.
No. 3 Millersville| Previous: 6. The Marauders make a big jump — and the last two weekends are the reason why. They closed their season against two national ranked teams in West Chester and East Stroudsburg and went 7-1 after this past weekend's sweep of former first-five-outer East Stroudsburg. That not only moved their metrics slightly ahead of Central Missouri, but I like the pitching setup for a tournament setup ever so slightly more than some teams in the top 10, giving them the edge.
No. 4 Central Missouri | Previous: No. 3. The Mules did nothing wrong to drop a spot, and it was fractions of points that separated them from the Marauders. What it came down to is that this last weekend, the Marauders swept a nationally ranked team and the Mules swept a 10-win team. The Mules have one of the best offenses in DII with almost a perfect blend of timely, contact hitting and power bats that get the big runs across. The Central Region is loaded — and the Mules are locked in at the top. That says a lot.
No. 5 Catawba| Previous: 4. The Indians are heading to the SAC championship game on a 10-game winning streak. They will face No. 6 Lenoir-Rhyne, so a lot is riding on this championship series. Currently, Catawba is the No. 1 seed in the loaded Southeast Region... and the Bears are No. 2. Catawba owns the edge in all the metrics, but the two have split their matchups in the regular season. The winner takes the SAC and likely the Southeast's top seed, and Catawba is 22-4 on its home turf this season.
No. 6 Lenoir-Rhyne| Previous: 7. See above. The Bears are No. 2 in the Southeast, but it isn't by much. What hurt the Bears in the first regional ranking was their low PI, but a win against Catawba should adjust that and boost them to the top of the region just in time for the selection show. The top of this lineup is just absurd — all four hitters atop the order are hitting over .380 with 12 or more home runs each.
No. 7 Minnesota State| Previous: No. 8. The Mavericks are in a three-way race for the Central Region. They head into the NSIC tournament after a weekend sweep and winners of six in a row. They should be able to take Pittsburg State in this week's regional rankings for the No. 2 spot, but there is a lot that can happen in both the MIAA and NSIC tournaments that decide who ultimately gets the No. 1 seed in this region. The Mavericks have proven — despite a low SoS — they deserve the No. 1 spot. Now they just need to win the NSIC tourney to have a chance.
No. 8 UT Tyler| Previous: No. 9. The Patriots are riding a 16-game winning streak after the LSC tournament-opening series win, in which they took down Texas A&M-Kingsville in two games by a score of 20-1. There isn't much else to say about this team other than they have been one of the best from start to finish. They have played multiple regionally ranked teams and while they have split some of those series, they haven't lost any. They are playoff ready.
No. 9 Young Harris | Previous: 10. Young Harris heads to the Conference Carolinas championship series against a hot Belmont Abbey team they defeated two days ago. They are fresh off a 25-run output and have been very tough the past month or more. If the Mountain Lions win, it will make things very interesting at the top of the Southeast Region, as they have a ton of metrics that are not only among the best in the Southeast, but all DII.
No. 10 North Georgia| Previous: No. First five out. The Nighthawks are in the PBC semifinals against tournament powerhouse Columbus State. Should they win that, the people who question them being ranked this highly will understand. It appears PI and KPI are valued more highly than RPI right now, and the Nighthawks are in the top 20 of both. Being in the race for the Southeast Region also adds to their high ranking. So does Andrews Opata, who is one of the best DII has to offer.
First five out (in order)
- North Greenville. The Trailblazers were knocked out of the Conference Carolinas tournament early. While this conference is loaded with regionally ranked teams, North Greenville lost to a pair that weren't ranked, thus bumping it from the top 10 for the first time all season.
- Westmont. The Warriors split with Azusa Pacific to close the season and have lost three times over the past two weeks to teams I feel they should have beaten. Still, if they get hot, there are few teams scarier this time of year.
- Colorado Mesa Sure, the Mavericks dropped one this weekend, but still won another RMAC weekend series against MSU Denver. They have also scored 61 runs in their last five games, and that's bad news for the RMAC when they are on a heater like that.
- Pittsburg State. The Gorillas are and have been one of the most well-balanced teams in DII and should be one of the top three teams in the Central Region.
- Florida Southern. The Mocs have the metrics, but it is the talent that has led to one of the most impressive turnarounds this season. Mikey Scott leads the way.
