The final pitch in Cary, North Carolina brings a close to the 2023 season. For the first time in program history, Angelo State raised the trophy as DII baseball national champions. The Rams are also the first-ever Lone Star Conference champion in the sport. Spoiler alert: That moment earns the Rams the top spot in the final Power 10 rankings of the 2023 season.
A national championship and a spot on 's for !
— NCAA Division II (@NCAADII)
What a season it was. John Michael Faile of North Greenville ended a storybook career as the all-time DII baseball leader in home runs and RBIs. Quincy chased the DII baseball single-season home run record while trying to stave off Illinois Springfield in its own conference only to see UIndy stun them both and advance to the finals (remember UIndy? The team that had a pitcher throw a no-hitter and hit for the cycle in the same game). Rollins not only seems to have figured out the Tampa equation but have now been among at least the final four standing in each of the past two seasons. Cal State San Bernardino surprised the DII baseball world and made a run not only to Cary but came just a few runs shy of playing for the national championship. There's a reason it's called the Wild West.
CHAMPIONS: Round-by-round recap | Interactive bracket
It's important to remember that DII sports, in general, are their own beast. Punching your ticket to the final eight doesn't ensure a top-eight spot in the final Power 10 rankings, or even a spot at all. Because of regionalization and the super-region format, there are many good teams that simply don't get the chance to advance. These Power 10 rankings combine metrics, overall records, statistics, and the old eye test to try and come up with a complete ranking that represents the entire 2023 season. If you read through the rankings, you'll find the 2023 player, pitchers and freshmen of the year honors as well.
The final DII baseball Power 10 rankings of 2023
No. 1 Angelo State | Pre-tournament ranking: 3 (tied): The Rams never slipped below No. 5 from the preseason to final pitch. The Rams are a powerhouse, now making it to Cary three years in a row and finally putting the defining stamp on a strong few years with an undefeated run in the finals. Jacob Guerrero led a lineup that was one of the best at producing runs and Kade Bragg (more on him later) and Aaron Munson made their mark, leading the turnaround in the pitching staff that was inevitably the driving force in finally getting these Rams over the edge. You want the ultimate spoiler alert? Go ahead and pencil in the Rams as preseason No. 1 now and put them down for at least another trip to the super regionals. This program isn't going anywhere.
No. 2 Rollins | Pre-tournament ranking: 9: If you want to know why Rollins is No. 2, look at the final inning of the DII baseball championship game. Trailing 6-2 in the ninth, Rollins came roaring back, and yes, the Tars ultimately fell short by a run, but this team never says die. Rollins will lose some talent once again, but there is no team that has proven that it can win against the best of the best like Rollins has the past two seasons. The Tars lineup and pitching staff isn't full of those players that stack the top of the statistical leaderboards, but together, they simply win ball games. No reason to think that changes any time soon.
No. 3 North Greenville | Pre-tournament ranking: 1: The Crusaders fell just short of a repeat but were impressive all season long. Heading into the tournament, no one in DII baseball had more wins against teams with a winning record. Losing to Angelo State and Southern New Hampshire is something many a team would do, so doesn't lessen the Crusaders' strong season at all. The storied career of John Michael Faile comes to an end with him leaving North Greenville a national champion and the all-time leader in home runs and RBIs. There will be turnover, but there is also a firm foundation in place for the Crusaders to continue playing well in 2024.
DII ALL-TIME GREATS: John Michael Faile and the rest of the DII lineup of the century
No. 4 Millersville | Pre-tournament ranking: 6: The Marauders were strong from opening day all the way to their exit from Cary. Sweeping their way through an Atlantic Region in which they faced Charleston (WV), West Chester and Seton Hill is no easy task. Bren Taylor was in the running for my national player of the year and led a very balanced offense that could hit for contact, power and cause some havoc on the base paths. Carson Kulina proved to be a nice transfer from DIII leading a pretty steady rotation as one of the bright newcomers to the division in 2023.
No. 5 Tampa | Pre-tournament ranking: 3 (tied): There are plenty of reasons to disagree with me ranking the Spartans so highly, and the primary one remains Rollins. But Tampa played a very tough schedule, and a simple look at the DII baseball statistics shows how balanced and stacked this team was. The Spartans were top 10 in ERA and WHIP, but also one of the best hitting teams in DII baseball, ranking fourth with a .345 batting average and were top 10 with a .440 on-base percentage. As always, the Spartans will lose a few key pieces, but no team has proven they can reload and remain a super-regional threat on an annual basis like Tampa has.
No. 6 Southern New Hampshire | Pre-tournament ranking: First five out: The Penmen started the season in the Power 10 and bounced in and out throughout the year. At the end of the day, they once again proved to be the true kings of the East, concluding the season with their third-straight trip to Cary. The Penmen had one of the best pitching staffs in DII baseball, and were carried far, especially behind the arms of Jeffrey Praml and Frankie Sanchez. Offensively, there were plenty of hitters, led by Nick Schwartz who was the East Region player of the year. If you wanted to go ahead right now and pencil in the Penmen as your East Region champs for 2024, I wouldn't blame you one bit.
HISTORY: Every national champion in DII baseball history
No. 7 Colorado Mesa | Pre-tournament ranking: 5: What a bizarre start to the season for the Mavericks, all while acclimating to a pretty much new-look lineup and rotation. At the end of the day, coach Chris Hanks had another contender and Colorado Mesa made yet another trip to the super regionals. Despite losing some of the best offense in DII history, these Mavericks didn't skip a beat, with three hitters posting batting averages north of .400 and a lineup with plenty of power that piled up an absurd 637 runs scored. On the mound, freshman Liam Hohenstein enjoyed a breakout season as one of the only freshmen to make an NCBWA All-Region First Team, so the future looks A-OK in Grand Junction.
No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino | Pre-tournament ranking: Also considered: I'll admit it. I didn't have the Coyotes pegged as a super-regional team, never mind a national semifinalist. In a very 2022 Rollins-esque run, the Yotes simply continued to defy the odds and win some of the more memorable games of the postseason, starting back in the CCAA with one of their now signature walk-off wins. This was the winningest team in program history and also set program marks as the best hitting and run-scoring team in any season in the Yotes' record books. They were really fun to watch, and even went down fighting against Rollins in the semifinals. While pitching wasn't necessarily their forte, DeShawn Johnson and Giovanni Del Negro led a high-octane offense that never seemed to go away.
No. 9 Quincy | Pre-tournament ranking: 2: You can actually make the case the Hawks could be a spot or two higher. Quincy played one of the toughest schedules in all DII baseball from the opening-weekend series win against Tampa and reeled off 47 wins in the process. Luke Napleton (more on him shortly) led the DII baseball bomb squad to crush 131 home runs, with at least six players reaching 11 or more home runs. As we have seen in the past, pitching seems to be the Achilles' heel for Midwest teams once in the postseason, and that is where the Hawks need to improve next year. If they do, we're looking at another strong season.
No. 10 Central Missouri | Pre-tournament ranking: 8: I can see where people don't understand how Augustana (SD) and UIndy — two programs that reached the finals — aren't in the final Power 10, but they are right outside looking in. The Mules were a 40-plus win team yet again, and this time around it was with a much different roster. What the Mules proved is to get to Cary in the Central, you still have to get through them, and that's impressive. Going down the stretch, the Mules won big series after big series and ran into an Augustana team that flew under the radar and caught fire at the right time of year. If Carter Young, Conner Wolf, J.D. McReynolds and Vance Tobol are back — all of whom received postseason honors — the Mules are another 40-win team and right back in the tournament.
First 15 out (in alphabetical order):
Typically, this spot is reserved for the first five out, but it's the final rankings of 2023. Let's give props to the top 25 on the season.
- Augustana (SD)
- Barry
- Belmont Abbey
- Cal State Monterey Bay
- UIndy
- Le Moyne
- Maryville
- Minnesota State
- Missouri Southern
- Mount Olive
- Newberry
- Seton Hill
- Southern Arkansas
- UT Tyler
- West Florida
The 2023 DII baseball honors
This is the third year I have handed out postseason honors. You can see the inaugural 2021 awards here, and last year's by clicking here. It is important to note that I go by the official year and position listings and stats on
Player of the year: Luke Napleton, C, Quincy. There are so many worthy candidates this year, that this was the toughest pick yet. It was very close, but here's the bottom line: Quincy was arguably the most explosive lineup in DII baseball, and Napleton was the consistent force behind it. He led DII baseball in home runs (29) and RBI (87) and was top 10 in slugging percentage and top 30 in runs scored. Throw in the fact that his team made it to the super regionals, and Napleton was a driving force for the Hawks, being a true MVP.
Also considered (in alphabetical order): Jakob Christian, Point Loma; John Michael Faile, North Greenville; Jake Hjelle, Minnesota Crookston; Bren Taylor, Millersville; D.J. Van Atten, Southern Nazarene
Co-pitcher of the year: Kade Bragg, Angelo State, Mitch Farris, Wingate. You want to see an ace lead their team deep into the postseason, but that simply wasn't the case for the Wingate Bulldogs. But Farris was so good, he gets to share the honors, going 11-1 while leading DII baseball in WHIP (0.62), finishing second in strikeouts, and posting a filthy 1.21 ERA. Bragg gets the nod as the ace for the Rams, finishing the season at 15-1 with a 1.20 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 124 strikeouts in 104.2 innings pitched. Though it got a little hairy at the end, Bragg was still the guy who made the final pitch for the Rams' first national championship.
Also considered: Jake Karaba, Lewis
FLAT-OUT FILTH: 13 of DII baseball's best pitchers in 2023
Freshmen of the year (pitcher and position player): RHP Landon Kiefer, Albany State (GA) and OF Jonatan Clough, Eastern New Mexico: Kiefer probably flew under the radar playing for the Golden Rams, but stacking his stats up against other freshmen, there were few better. Kiefer had the best ERA and WHIP among freshmen starters and finished 9-2 with more than a strikeout per inning. Clough takes home the offensive freshmen honors, hitting .348 with a 1.219 OPS to go along with 11 doubles, 18 home runs and 69 RBIs. He also added in nine stolen bases as a hitter that could do it all.
Also considered: Liam Hohenstein, SP, Colorado Mesa; Bennett Roemer, SP, Newberry
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