The DII baseball season is finally in full swing. With the colder weather in the Northeast and Midwest regions, it takes a while for every team to throw that much-anticipated first pitch. Now that every school has, it is time to jump into the weekly Power 10 rankings.
The last Power 10, the preseason version, saw Tampa, Angelo State, North Greenville and Central Missouri battling at the top half of the rankings. Not much has changed one month into the season.
Now that we are moving to weekly Power 10 rankings, here is your reminder. If you follow my DII Report newsletter, you are well aware that DII baseball is a year-round sport for me. I started talking to coaches in September, and these Power 10 rankings take much of those notes into consideration. Ultimately, there is no voting body — these Power 10 rankings are mine alone, based on metrics the selection committee considers and a whole mess of stats. Perhaps this is the most important item to remember: College baseball is the longest sport. It spans five months with most teams playing four to five games a week. Losses are going to happen; early season "upsets" are going to happen; but at the end of the day, baseball is a grind, and you have to look much deeper than the wins and losses than in any other sport. That is what I try to explain below.
DII BASEBALL 2025
📊 The preseason Power 10
🔮 Wayne's way-too-early guesses on the eight for Cary
The DII baseball Power 10 rankings (Week ending March 2)
No. 1 Tampa | Preseason: No. 1. I can understand how some may see Angelo State or North Greenville as No. 1, but this is still Tampa's spot. The Spartans opened the season with a sweep of nationally ranked Georgia College and this past weekend dominated a nationally ranked Ashland team 8-0 before sweeping Davenport without allowing a run. Ace Skylar Gonzalez was sensational in that outing, going six shutout innings with seven strikeouts, and is now 3-0 with a 1.55 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 29 strikeouts. The Spartans have played a tougher schedule than Angelo State, so they keep that No. 1 spot for now.
No. 2 Angelo State | Preseason: No. 2. This Rams' offense has just been so good through one month of the season. They have scored 18 or more runs five times and broke the 20-run barrier three of those times. The Rams have outscored their opponents 221-71 and the team is batting .400 with a 1.126 OPS. Nick Wilson has had a strong start for the Rams and leads a rotation with a 2.98 ERA and more than one strikeout per inning pitched. This is a balanced Rams team and is going to be tough to beat.
No. 3 Central Missouri | Preseason: No. 5. MIAA baseball is going to be interesting this year. Rogers State and Fort Hays State are off to hot starts, Washburn is coming off that stunning sweep of Missouri Southern and is a real sleeper, and Central Missouri is, well Central Missouri. The Mules had another big series win against previously 10-1 Pittsburg State this past weekend... and don't even seem to be playing their best ball yet. The Mules are right at the top of the list of contenders for Cary.
No. 4 North Greenville | Preseason: No. 4. Yes, the Trailblazers lost two of three to Belmont Abbey. But here's the thing — Belmont Abbey is a really good baseball team, but it gets buried in the uber-competitive Southeast Region. The Trailblazers lost the first two games by three total runs and then closed the series with a monster 10-1 win. This team is plenty good — it already swept UNC Pembroke — don't let a few losses in the toughest region in DII baseball fool you.
No. 5 Point Loma | Preseason: No. 7. The Sea Lions swept through Menlo in dominating fashion to improve to 14-4 on the season. Jake Entrekin had another monster weekend, going 9-for-12 with a home run in each of the four games and 13 RBIs. Branden Jackel has yet to allow an earned run for a pitching staff that already has 169 strikeouts after striking out 46 this past weekend. A huge matchup against Westmont awaits this weekend.
No. 6 Westmont | Preseason: Also considered. After an impressive DII debut last year, Westmont was my preseason pick to win the PacWest. I know what you're saying — if you have that much confidence in the Warriors, how is Point Loma ranked higher? It is easy to make a pick based on rosters and stats in the winter, but it is another thing to see it happen. So, I waited, and now Westmont is riding a 16-game winning streak and will put its 12-0 PacWest record on the line against Point Loma this weekend.
No. 7 UT Tyler | Preseason: Also considered. In my LSC preseason preview I said, "Don't be surprised if UT Tyler makes the DII tournament. That pitching depth, plus the addition of Justin Williams, who hit at the DI level, is kind of scary." Well, if the Patriots keep up what they are doing, they may be battling Angelo State for a spot in Cary. The Patriots took a four-game series this past weekend against nationally ranked St. Edward's and already split with Angelo State earlier this year. This is one of the best teams in DII right now. Keep your eye on Drew Schmidt. He has a 20-game hitting streak going with five two-hit games in his last seven outings.
No. 8 Catawba | Preseason: No. 6. The Indians have some nice signature wins against Mount Olive and Belmont Abbey and continue to roll over their SAC opponents. Though they did drop a game to Mars Hill this past weekend, they also put up 32 runs in the two wins they had. What will get Catawba far in the tricky Southeast is that three-headed monster of Casey Gouge, Payne Stolsworth and Austin Fine in the rotation, who should heat up as the weather does.
No. 9 Southern New Hampshire | Preseason: No. 8. The Penmen had a terrific opening weekend in Myrtle Beach, utterly dominating three wins in four tries at the Ripken Experience tournament. They dropped a game to Adelphi to start the week before that pesky Northeast weather got in the way of another game. The Penmen are no strangers to taking a little time to adjust and warm up, but come April, they are usually an unstoppable force. The depth of this team gives us no reason to believe that won't be the same once again in 2025.
No. 10 Florida Southern | Preseason: Also considered. Rick O'Dette came into Lakeland with a ton of transfers and so far, Mocs' fans are happy with the results. They opened the season with a series win over nationally ranked West Florida and have been rolling ever since. Mikey Scott is on a tear, with 10 hits in his last four games while Sachem Ramos leads the pitching staff with big strikeout ability. The Mocs head to Tennessee for a big matchup against 14-4 Carson-Newman this weekend in yet another test for this new-look ball team.
First five out (in alphabetical order)
- Augustana (SD). I had the Vikings at No. 3 to start the season, and I still think they are that good. They have been victims of the weather and can't get the momentum rolling but split a big series against St. Cloud State.
- East Stroudsburg. The Warriors are now 10-0 and barely missed the top 10. Much like in recent years, the starting pitching is stacked, giving the Warriors a huge edge in the Atlantic Region. This weekend, they have a meaningful series against MEC favorite Frostburg State.
- Lenoir-Rhyne. By the metrics, the Bears are arguably the best team in the Southeast right now, and that's all you need to know. They have a sweep over Young Harris, and a big series win over Wingate this past weekend. The Bears were my preseason pick for the SAC and my preseason newcomer of the year, Mackenzie Wainwright, has been playing like a potential national player of the year (.493 batting average, 1.528 OPS, seven doubles, four triples, six home runs and eight stolen bases in 17 games).
- Millersville. The Marauders started the season with back-to-back series wins over SAC heavyweight Wingate and perennial CACC contender Goldey-Beacom. Do we call the pitching staff the Killer Bs? Garet Blankenbiller and Connor Blantz are off to hot starts.
- Minnesota State. The Mavericks haven't played the toughest schedule, but the way they went 8-0 to start the season has been quite impressive. Starting pitchers Louis Magers and Nathan Culley haven't allowed an earned run in each of their first two starts and the staff looks tough so far.
Three teams on the rise: Grand Valley State, Harding and West Florida.
These teams that fell out but need to stay on your radar: Cal State Monterey Bay, Colorado Mesa, Missouri Southern and West Chester.
.jpg?h=b796ca69&itok=eCjGLriM)
