The NJCAA released its first rankings for the 2008 baseball season today and have named Central Arizona College the No. 1 ranked team heading into the season.
Central Arizona is followed by Grayson County College (Texas), defending champion Chipola College (Fla.), College of Southern Nevada, and Iowa Western Community College to round out the top five.
Central Arizona is the defending champion in the highly competitive Region 1 and Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC). The Vaqueros posted a 43-21 record last season, but their bid for a JUCO World Series berth fell short when the were upended by Western Nevada College in the NCJAA Western District final.
The Vaqueros return eight starters from last year's team, including 2007 ACCAC Pitcher of the Year and Third-Team NJCAA All-American Josh Spence (6'2"/175 lbs), who led the nation last season with a 0.71 ERA. Spence set an NJCAA record last season by throwing 16 complete games, eight of which went for shutouts. He also tossed 43 consecutive scoreless innings and did not make an error in 43 chances on the mound, which earned him a Rawlings Gold Glove award. Spence has signed with Arizona State.
Central Arizona also returns All-Region 1 first baseman Cade Thompson (6'3"/185 lbs), who hit .356 last year with 31 RBI. He has signed with Nebraska.
The Vaqueros last won the Division I JUCO World Series in 2002.
Grayson County is favored by Region 5 coaches to be the team to beat in the west Texas region. The Vikings are coming off a 43-13 campaign where they finished behind New Mexico Junior College in the Region 5 standings. Head coach Dusty Hart returns five starters and eight total players from last season. Highlighting that group is 2007 All-Region 5 left fielder Michael Reid and All-Region 5 second baseman Scott Lawson. Reid (5'10"/165 lbs) hit .410 and drove in 44 runs last year, while Lawson (5'10"/190 lbs) posted a .426 batting average and had 64 RBI.
The Vikings won back to back JUCO Worlds Series titles in 1999 and 2000, and have been one of the most consistent teams in the NJCAA. Since 1997, Grayson has averaged at least 46 victories a season.
Chipola College looks to become the seventh team in NJCAA history to repeat as champions, but they have a very tough task in front of them as Region 8 and the Panhandle Conference are two of the toughest leagues in the nation. The Indians return just four starters from last year's club, but Chipola head coach Jeff Johnson always fields a talented roster.
The Indians might just have one of the best pitching staff's in the country as four starters from last year return. Staff aces include JUCO World Series Most Outstanding Pitcher Ryan Chaffee (6'1"/200 lbs; 8-2, 3.30 ERA) and JUCO World Series MVP Drew Parker (6'2"/165 lbs; 8-2, 3.21 ERA). Kyle Regnault (4-2, 3.25 ERA) and Daniel Jones (7-2, 4.20 ERA) round out a staff that helped lead Chipola to its second-consecutive Region 8 title last year.
Southern Nevada comes into the 2008 season with eight returning starters from last season's 41-18 club. The Coyotes received a pre-season No. 1 ranking by Baseball America in their small-college preview this past week. Why all the buzz for CSN? Well, head coach Tim Chambers has eight players on his club that have already signed with NCAA Division I schools.
Highlighting the Coyote roster are three Second Team All-Region 18 perfromers: catcher Branden Schlehuber (6'2"/190 lbs; .242 BA), short-stop Easton Gust (5'9"/175 lbs; .286 BA) and second baseman Kyle Bostick (5'9"/175 lbs; .336 BA). However, it is their pitching staff that has been getting a lot of press. CSN gets back '07 Second-Team All-American and Region 18 Pitcher of the Year Tyler Lavinge (6'/190 lbs; 8-2, 0.79 ERA) and Colby Shreve (6'4"/200 lbs; 5-2, 2.78 ERA) who was selected by Atlanta in the 50th round in last year's amateur draft.
The Coyotes last won the JUCO World Series in 2003.
Rounding out the top five is defending Region 11 and '07 JUCO World Series participant Iowa Western . It is easy to see why the Reivers are so highly regarded heading into 2008. Doug Kroll, 2007 ABCA NJCAA D-I Player of the Year, returns to the roster for head coach Marc Rardin. Kroll (6'4"/220 lbs) put up some unbelievable stats last year ending the 2007 regular season in the top five of the three main offensive categories in the NJCAA. He ranked second with 82 RBI's, tied for third with 17 homeruns and third in batting average with a mark of .492. Kroll has singed to play at Oklahoma State next year.
Also returning for Iowa Western is All-Region 11 outfielder Tyler Lundy (6'2"/180 lbs) who drove in 65 RBI with a .374 batting average last year. On the mound the Reivers will have Kirk Clark (6'2"/210 lbs) as their ace. Clark went 8-3 last season with a 4.29 ERA.
Iowa Western has yet to capture a JUCO World Series title, but have advanced to the tournament eight times.
Seven other participants from the last year's JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., are in the Pre-Season Top 30. Young Harris College (Ga.) is No. 6 and the favorite to win Region 17, San Jacinto College (Texas) is No. 8, Cowley College rounds out the top 10, Spartanburg Methodist College is 12th, last year's runner-up New Mexico Junior College is 14th, Western Nevada College is 19th and Shelton State Community College (Ala.) is 21st.
The first NJCAA Division I Baseball rankings of the regular season will be released on March 19th.
Place College Location Record Points 1st Pl Votes Last Week
1 Central Arizona College Coolidge, AZ 43-21 0 0 0
2 Grayson County College Denison, TX 43-13 0 0 0
3 Chipola College Marianna, FL 41-18 0 0 0
4 College of Southern Nevada Henderson, NV 41-18 0 0 0
5 Iowa Western Community College Council Bluffs, IA 42-18 0 0 0
6 Young Harris College Young Harris, GA 46-22 0 0 0
7 Connors State College Warner, OK 41-17 0 0 0
8 San Jacinto College-North Houston, TX 46-16 0 0 0
9 Walters State Community College Morristown, TN 43-11 0 0 0
10 Cowley County Community College Arkansas City, KS 47-18 0 0 0
11 Wallace State Community College-Hanceville Hanceville, AL 41-12 0 0 0
12 Spartanburg Methodist College Spartanburg, SC 54-15 0 0 0
13 Miami-Dade College Miami, FL 44-12 0 0 0
14 New Mexico Junior College Hobbs, NM 55-8 0 0 0
15 John A. Logan College Carterville, IL 41-14 0 0 0
16 Butler Community College - Kansas El Dorado, KS 39-15 0 0 0
17 Jefferson College Hillsboro, MO 37-25 0 0 0
18 Navarro College Corsicana, TX 27-23 0 0 0
19 Western Nevada College Carson City, NV 41-24 0 0 0
20 St. Petersburg College St. Petersburg, FL 37-17 0 0 0
21 Shelton State Community College Tuscaloosa, AL 46-17 0 0 0
22 Eastern Oklahoma State College Wilburton, OK 30-24 0 0 0
23 Blinn College Brenham, TX 37-19 0 0 0
24 Potomac State College of WVU Keyser, WV 32-13 0 0 0
25 Seward County Community College Liberal, KS 36-22 0 0 0
26 Temple College Temple, TX 41-17 0 0 0
27 Yavapai College Prescott, AZ 34-22 0 0 0
28 North Central Missouri College Trenton, MO 43-15 0 0 0
29 Chattanooga State Technical Community College Chattanooga, TN 52-12 0 0 0
30 Louisburg College Louisburg, NC 41-17 0 0 0
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