Spring is in the air (well, almost) and that means the 2024 DII baseball season is upon us. Before the absolutely stacked competition take the field at the Houston Winter Invitational from Feb. 2-4, let’s break down the DII baseball preseason Power 10.
There have been three straight first-time national champions in DII baseball. Angelo State enters the season with a lofty task of repeating, but let’s not kid ourselves. Head coach Kevin Brooks has made Angelo State a DII baseball powerhouse with six trips to Cary under his belt. The Rams have been knocking on the door for a while, and now that they got over the hump, a repeat is certainly within reach.
For those new to the Power 10 rankings, these are mine and mine alone — there is no voting body; just me, some spreadsheets and a whole mess of notes and scouting reports from coaches. I attempt to mesh the good ol’ eye test with some of the numbers the selection committee uses to fill the bracket in May. It is also important to note that the only games that matter to me are those played against DII competition. Now, since there are no metrics in the preseason — and so many rosters have seen so much change — a lot of what goes into the preseason rankings is based on key returners and historical staying power.
The 2024 DII baseball preseason Power 10
No. 1 Angelo State
The Rams lost a few players — like 2023 Gold Glover Tyler Boggs and Jordan Williams — but return plenty to make another run for Cary. Jacob Guerrero is a DII baseball player-of-the-year candidate after hitting .412 with a 1.153 OPS last year and Tripp Clark — who led the team in home runs and RBIs while hitting a smooth .374 — also returns. On the bump, the Rams lost some big firepower, but Braxton Pearson should be deadly, clocked as high as 94 mph on his fastball this past fall. Texas Tech transfer, righty Dax Dathe — who hits mid-90s with a plus slider — and lefty transfer Alizaeh Gutierrez — who has what I have been told is a great changeup and was his conference’s pitcher of the year in 2023 — should become key pieces to the Rams success. As I said, Angelo State has been an annual threat for Cary since Brooks made it his program, and there’s nothing changing this year.
No. 2 Tampa
The Sunshine State Conference is one of the best in DII baseball history, and right at the top is Tampa. The Spartans have won eight of the last 10 SSC regular-season titles and you can expect them to do it again. E.J. Cumbo is back for more after hitting .416 with a 1.063 OPS last year. Once again, head coach Joe Urso was active in the transfer portal and landed former Valdosta State first baseman and pitcher JP Gates, giving Tampa a pair of player-of-the-year threats in he and Cumbo. I’m very curious to see what Michigan State transfer Andrew Carson brings to the pitching staff after a stellar career with the Spartans, but Alex Canney returns to anchor what we have come to expect as one of the best pitching staffs in DII on an annual basis. Tampa has key returners and intriguing new pieces to make it a threat to win it all… as usual.
No. 3 North Greenville
The Crusaders have been on a tear in recent years, falling short in Cary last year in their quest to repeat. There is no denying that they have lost some of the big-time talent that made that possible in Marek Chlup and John Michael Faile, a member of the NCAA.com DII baseball all-century team. But if you think that North Greenville is going to go away, think again. Pat Monteith, David Lewis, and Bryce Roddey — the top three hitters on the team in 2023 statistically speaking — get the barrel on the ball consistently. Ace Reece Fields is back to lead a pitching staff with some hard throwers like Nate Roof (93 mph fastball) and Dawson Taylor (96 mph). Keep an eye on outfielder Dakota Britt who has shown he can hit for high average and plenty of pop at the JUCO level. The Crusaders are stacked once again.
No. 4 Augustana (SD)
I was tempted to put the Vikings one spot higher. What’s not to like about this team? Coming off a run to Cary, the Vikings return every starting position player from one of the speediest lineups in DII. You’ll notice each of the top three have a player-of-the-year candidate, and that continues with Augustana: Drey Dirksen should fill up the box scores coming off a season in which he posted a 1.093 OPS with 17 doubles, 17 home runs, a team-high 65 RBIs and 63 runs scored, while swiping nine bags. Pitching? The Vikings have depth as last year’s ace Caleb Saari (who has a four-pitch arsenal with a nasty knuckleball and a fastball in the 90s) returns. If Caleb Kranz can keep runners from scoring, he has huge “Friday night” potential coming off a season when he struck out 12.1 batters per nine innings. Yep, the Vikings are loaded with experience, and that’s dangerous.
No. 5 Colorado Mesa
Well, the Mavericks lost a ton of weapons heading into 2023… and they still had one of the top offenses and made yet another trip to the super regionals. The South Central has been a race between the Mavs and Rams for the past decade or so, and I don’t expect anything to change in 2024. Yes, Colorado Mesa lost some pop again, but the Mavericks return five regular hitters that hit well above .330 for DII baseball’s best hitting team in 2023 (they hit a combined .370 to lead DII). Robert Sharrar should put up video game numbers once again and possibly challenge for the DII batting title after finishing 13th in DII last year. As always, pitching is a big question in the RMAC where balls fly into orbit on a regular basis, but Mesa returns its top two pitchers from the rotation last year as well as a bevy of experience in the bullpen. It should be another strong season in Grand Junction.
No. 6 Millersville
The Marauders not only made it to Cary last year but were the No. 1 overall seed when they got there. Millersville returns its entire starting rotation along with Conor Cook (who was a 2021 PSAC freshmen of the year, started in 2022, and missed last season with injury), all of which are All-PSAC caliber. But as head coach Jon Shehan pointed out, staying healthy all at the same time has been a continuous issue. If they do that this year, watch out, even in a PSAC loaded with three top-20 teams (along with Seton Hill and East Stroudsburg). Having that rotation will help, as the Marauders lost a ton of their lineup but certainly have enough returning to get that offense going. Opening their season at the Houston Winter Invitational against Central Missouri, Tampa and St. Cloud State will be a huge test, one where going 3-0 isn’t as important as simply staying competitive with three of the best teams in DII baseball.
No. 7 West Florida
Dalton Neuschwander, Kade Manderscheid and Major Posey. West Florida’s starting weekend rotation was plain old filthy last year, and all three are back. None are huge strikeout guys, which in today’s day of 100-mph hurlers may leave the trio a little under the radar, but they don’t allow hits and more importantly, they don’t allow runs. Neuschwander throws a fastball and cutter that hits 95 and pitched to a 0.99 WHIP last year — if you had to pick a pitcher-of-the-year candidate from the bunch, it’s likely him, but all three could be No. 1s in many other rotations. Oh, four of the top five hitters for West Florida are also back, including Darrien McDowell who led the team in average (.357), OPS (1.098), doubles (16), homers (14), runs (52), and RBIs (63). This team is loaded.
No. 8 Central Missouri
In case you’ve missed it, the Mules win ball games. A ton of them, year in and year out. I don’t care if this team flips its entire roster to graduation, the Mules will compete. Four of their top five hitters are back from last year, and that includes a pair of guys that, if healthy, can hit 15 doubles, 15 home runs, and steal 15 bases in Vance Tobol and Carter Young. The Mules’ top pitcher from a year ago — Conner Wolf — is back to anchor the rotation and closer JD McReynolds is a preseason All-American. I’m very curious to see what big, 6-foot-6 righty Jacob Moskowitz brings to the table after missing a year to injury, but he could be a known name by midseason.
No. 9 Cal State San Bernardino
I’m probably too low on the Coyotes and I am even second guessing myself. This team has a UC San Diego feel to them, and the Tritons dominated the West Region for three straight years before jumping to Division I. The Coyotes blend good contact skills, gap-to-gap prowess, and plenty of pop up and down the lineup led by preseason All-American Giovanni Del Negro while Daryl Ruiz and Danny Garcia can straight barrel up a baseball. Three starters that now have experience on DII baseball’s biggest stage return and transfer righty Devyn Hernandez looks like he can give valuable innings quickly. This could be the start of something special.
No. 10 (tie) UIndy and Seton Hill
The Midwest Region has not been kind to past champions. There hasn’t been a repeat trip to the final eight in roughly a decade, so UIndy has history against it. However, as one of the fastest teams in DII baseball, if you don’t keep the Greyhounds off the bases, you’re going to lose, full stop. That is going to be a chore for UIndy’s opponents as four of the team’s top five hitters are back, and that includes Drew Donaldson, who should contend for DII player of the year coming off a season in which he hit .410 with 10 home runs and 17 stolen bases. The addition of a pair of Missouri S&T transfers — Cole Hampton and Dakota Sill — will make this one of the deepest lineups in the region. Pitching will be a question mark. Logan Peterson is an anchor of experience in the rotation, but hopes are high on 6-foot-7, Division I transfer Jackson Kirkpatrick, a potential newcomer of the year who was c locked at 99 mph in the fall. The Midwest is sneakily top heavy with some very good teams but UIndy’s returning experience in that lineup gives them the upper hand for now.
Pencil in Jack Oberdorf as a player-of-the-year candidate. The preseason All-American is one of four returning All-PSAC hitters for Seton Hill from a year ago. The Griffins also return their entire starting rotation and plenty of the pieces behind it that led to one of the best defenses in all of DII baseball last year (they finished second in fielding percentage). This is a team I can very easily see in Cary, and the battle between Millersville, East Stroudsburg, and the Griffins is going to be one of the most fun to watch.
First five out (in alphabetical order):
- Mount Olive: The Trojans return six of nine positions players, four of which were the top hitters on the team. They also had a bit of success against North Greenville last year which is impressive in its own right.
- Rollins: People may think I’m nuts leaving out the defending runners up coming off back-to-back trips to Cary. But this team has lost a lot and open the season with games against Alabama-Huntsville, Montevallo, Colorado Mesa and West Florida. That is absolutely brutal, but if the Tars simply stay competitive and split those games, I’m sold they are back in the top 10 by March.
- Southern Arkansas: The Muleriders are in the rare position to lose some big-time veterans but yet return plenty of experience to the lineup, including Brandon Nicholl who you can pencil in as an early GAC player-of-the-year favorite. Ace Jeremy Adorno’s sophomore campaign was a bit different than his ridiculous freshman debut, and I think he bounces back to that form this year.
- Southern New Hampshire: The Penmen have owned the East Region with three straight trips to Cary. That said, they lose four of their top-5 hitters from a year ago and Chris Shank takes over for SNHU legendary head coach Scott Loiseau. I think SNHU is still the team to beat in the East, but we need to see how the team performs on the field before the Penmen are anointed top 10.
- UT Tyler: First of all, the Lone Star Conference is stacked. St. Edward’s (or even Lubbock Christian) could easily have taken this spot, so that speaks to how good the Patriots are. Having Kaston Mason back to lead the offense and Garrett Arredondo in the bullpen is going to help this team quite a bit.
Also considered (in alphabetical order): Ashland, Azusa Pacific, Barry, Belmont Abbey, Cal State Monterey Bay, East Stroudsburg, Lenoir Rhyne, Lubbock Christian, Maryville, Missouri Southern, Minnesota State, Montevallo, Point Loma, St, Edward’s, Quincy
Biggest snub: Northwood. I want to go on record about how much I went back and forth on where Northwood fits in to the 2024 landscape and for me, there are entirely too many question marks. There’s a new head coach, one of the Wolves’ best hitters from last year is now an assistant coach, and replacing Derek Clark, Jayden Dentler and Zach Abbey on the bump is a monumental task. I still think this team can make some noise, but I have to wait and see.
