|
| The Chapman Panthers are still waiting to see if they will be able to play in 2021 to defend their 2019 national championship. d3photography.com photo by Steve Frommell |
By Jim Dixon
D3sports.com
You might hear that the West is the best these days. This is because the last four national champions all hail from the West Region and at the end of an aborted season, three teams from the region were in the first five spots in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25. Cal Lutheran was the top vote-getter and was heading to a SCIAC crown. Trinity (Texas) and Chapman were the other two top five teams in 2021 and this short list is also our favorites for 2021. An ASC leading Concordia (Texas) was storming up the polls in 2020 and makes this this top trio, a quartet.
All this assumes that all teams take the field. The ASC and SCAC are scheduled to be on the field in early February with the NWC playing predominately a conference schedule, assuming state and local regulations permit the games to go on.
The SCIAC is still undecided whether there will be a season. If they they cancel their season, this will impact the national picture without Cal Lutheran and Chapman.
New Faces
Rick Heine, Texas Lutheran: With the coaching retirement of Greg Burnett, associate head coach Heines was named head coach for the Bulldogs. Burnett announced his coaching retirement at Texas Lutheran after 13 years as head coach and 22 total years with TLU. Entering his ninth year at TLU, Heines has been promoted to head coach from his prior roles as associate head coach, pitching coach, and recruiting coordinator. "We will continue to emphasize the foundational virtues of dedication, accountability and toughness while preserving the fantastic academic success we have seen. In the end, any good program is about the players, and they are our strongest asset. We are blessed with exceptional young men that want to excel in the classroom, in the community, and on the field."
Conference Previews
|
| The Concordia (Texas) Tornados are picked to finish first in the ASC, opening their season in the Rusty Greer/Jackie Moore Collegiate Classic on Feb. 12. Concordia (Texas) athletics photo |
American Southwest Conference: Concordia (Texas) (11-5) and Texas-Dallas (11-5) led the ASC with eight conference wins in 2020 before the season abruptly ended. Concordia opened the 2020 season in the preseason poll but a 1-4 record against teams in the other western conferences, dropped them out of the Top 25. Starting conference play, they slowly rose back into the poll and when the curtain dropped on the season were at the top of the ASC standings. The Tornados have parlayed this into being named the 2021 ASC favorite to win the conference title Senior outfielder Bret Leiferman (.492, 3 HR, 18 RBI), pictured to the right, will lead the offence with newcomer Easton Migl the best pitcher on staff.
Texas-Dallas opened 2020 with losses to the 2017 and 2019 National Champions but strung together a 3-1 records against Northwest and SCIAC teams. The past is prologue and without any eligibility lost, will have the chance to keep their leaders and add depth with their incoming freshman class. Junior outfielder A.J. Liu and junior right-handed pitcher Blake Birdwell were among the student-athletes singled out by the ASC coaches. Liu led the ASC with a .492 batting average last spring in his first season with the Comets, finishing his debut campaign with six doubles, four triples and one home run. Birdwell was 2-1 on the mound with an impressive 1.74 earned run average as a transfer for UTD last spring. Expect to see the Comets battling the Tornados for top seeding in the ASC.
Hardin-Simmons (4-12), East Texas Baptist (3-14), LeTourneau (9-7), and Howard Payne (8-11) were all picked to be in the middle of the pack in the ASC. LetU was a fourth-place pick in the ASC as Bryce Brueggemeyer and Kolton Eberlan were named to the ASC Players to Watch list. Brueggemeyer (.306, 7 runs, 11 RBI) will take over the top offensive role as Noah Mahoney earned a diploma. Eberlan (3-1, 3.34 ERA, 22 K) will be the YellowJackets' best pitcher.
University of the Ozarks (11-5), Louisiana College (7-7), Sul Ross State (6-12), Belhaven (8-8), Mary Hardin-Baylo (7-8), and McMurry (3-12-1) all ended their shortened season with subpar conference records and only Louisiana put together a positive nonconference tally. 2019 All-Conference players in shortstop Keelyn Johnson, Louisiana College (.378, 11 runs, 14 RBI), utility player Sam Hillyer, McMurry (.344, 13R, 18 RBI), and catcher Erick Aguirre, Ozarks (.500 in four games in 2020, .256 in 35 games in 2019) are players to keep an eye on in 2021. Pitchers Brooks Southall, Louisiana College (1-2, 1.95 ERA, 23 K) and Jeb Zolman, Mary Hardin-Baylor (1-0, 2.82 ERA, 20K) are key personnel on the mound for their teams.
FAVORITE: Concordia (Texas)
|
| George Fox and the rest of the Northwest Conference is slated to play a conference-only schedule with the conference tournament in the second weekend of May. George Fox athletics photo |
Northwest Conference: George Fox (11-4) was a bit of a surprise in the Northwest in 2020. The Northwest is usually a conference that has the haves and have nots and the Bruins were mostly a "have" but sometimes a "have not." At the end of the most recent conference seasons, George Fox lived on the bubble, sometimes in, sometimes out of the conference postseason. The change in their fortunes lies with new head coach Kevin Kopple. "We are young and talented," said Kopple. "We are one of the more athletic teams we've had at George Fox. We will have some growing pains but we have good upperclassman leadership and hopefully, we can be successful with what we have. We have a chance to be good when it's all said and done this season." Look for Trevor Nannini (.409, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 4 SB) to have a breakout season.
Pacific (9-7), Whitworth (11-5), and Willamette (8-8) were all enjoying good starts when the curtain dropped before the final act. Pacific and Whitworth, the two top teams in 2019, looked well poised the the conference tourney with Willamette looking to recapture the magic they had in 2018.
Whitman (4-13), Pacific Lutheran (6-7), and Linfield (7-9) all were looking outside in as all needed to turn their seasons around to make the four-team postseason and earn the automatic playoff bid that is awarded to the winner. Linfield will have depth as they undergo a youth movement. Young talent at catcher and in the infield should allow the Wildcats to make some noise this year. Anchoring the infield will be senior Tanner Jacques (.310, 14 runs, 10 RBI) while junior lefthander Colton Meyer (1-0, 4.18 ERA) brings All-American potential to the mound.
Lewis and Clark (5-11), and Puget Sound (5-11) have not had a lot of success on the diamond but with each new spring, hope is renewed. The L&C Pioneers are excited about their team's prospects this year. Each season they have continued to get better, and with a veteran roster, this is the group that can get them a conference postseason invite.
During the basketball season, the schools in Washington have been able to play, but the schools in Oregon (George Fox, Lewis & Clark, Linfield, Willamette) have not as of early February.
FAVORITE: George Fox
|
| The last time the Tigers brought this amount of experience to the field, they ended their season holding a walnut and bronze trophy. Trinity (Texas) athletics photo |
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference: Trinity (Texas) (11-2) was employing the same formula it used for its 2016 championship in 2020, experience. After their national title, a senior laden team all received diplomas and coach Tim Scannell reloaded. Those players that came in the next two years were seniors and juniors in 2020 and the Tigers were rolling through their schedule with their only losses coming at the hands of Babson, an equally experienced team. The good news is that none of those players had to leave. If Scannell can keep the team intact, a deep title run can be expected.
Texas Lutheran (9-4) has played in the postseason in each of the last seven seasons that championship opportunities were available and should do so again. They will be without Greg Burnet for the first time this century but the team should not skip a beat as long time assistant Rick Heine takes control in 2021. The Bulldogs will make the SCAC a two team race.
Austin (7-2), Centenary (La.) (9-4), Southwestern (7-6), Schreiner (9-8-1), University of Dallas (8-8), St. Thomas (Texas) (7-11) round out the rest of the SCAC. Centenary has had the best success out of this group with three first place conference finished since 2016 but only converted one of those top finished into a ticket to the NCAA playoffs. Look for special features throughout the season as the SCAC celebrates their 30th year.
FAVORITE: Trinity (Texas)
|
| Cal Lutheran ended the COVID-shortened season as the No. 1 team in the D3baseball.com Top 25. Cal Lutheran photo by Mariah Zermeno |
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: It was going to be a banner year in the SCIAC in 2020 with two teams in the top 5 but how the season ended is well known. COVID restrictions could very well keep all the teams off the field with a possible conference only schedule starting in March but even this is up in the air. Cal Lutheran (16-1) had the most wins in the nation and was coming off a 2-1 series win of Chapman when the stop sign was raised. If the season gets the go-ahead, third baseman Tanner Wright (.388, 3SB, 13 RBI) will be the team leader and the catalyst at the top of the lineup that features a solid mix of power and speed. While the offence is a mix of experience, seniors dominate the pitching staff. Seniors Alex Rivas (3-0, 2.23 ERA, 26 K), Zach Hardman (1-0, 2.48 ERA, 30 K), and Mase Snodgrass (3-0, 5.19 ERA, 16 K) are the top of the starting staff with fellow seniors Clay Rickerman (4-1, 5.68 ERA, 11 AP) and Tyler Hazlett (2-0, 2.30 ERA, 8 AP) waiting in the bulpen.
Chapman (12-3) came into the 2020 season as defending champions and despite losing their top starter was looking championship caliber again. A shortened MLB draft last summer took another piece of the title team when Nick Garcia left the Panthers for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although there is some uncertainty about where the team is headed, the lineup is full of leaders with championship experience. The offense will be headed by outfielders Hank Zeisler (.480, 5 HR, 19 RBI) and Brad Shimabuku (.382, 2HR, 20 RBI). Zeisler was clicking last spring and continued this production in the Northwoods League over the summer. He certainly is the odds on favorite for the best offensive player in the SCIAC and maybe the nation. In search of win number 500, head coach Scott Laverty will need to find an ace to replace Garcia. Seniors Riley Glenn (3-1, 4.20 ERA, 35 K) and Cody Turner (1-0, 6.97 ERA, 24 K) will be the top Panther starters.
Occidental (9-6), Pomona-Pitzer (10-5), Redlands (10-7), Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7-7), La Verne (9-9), Caltech (2-10), and Whittier (4-11) will all be playing in the second string section compared to the two top teams. A hot start will be important for any of these teams to get a postseason nod.
FAVORITE: Cal Lutheran