Every preseason, analysts and voters pour enormous effort into ranking the small college baseball landscape — poring over returning rosters, transfer additions, coaching changes, and historical trends to assemble the most accurate picture they can of who will be contending when the postseason arrives. And most years, they get it largely right. But the nature of college baseball, with its massive rosters, unpredictable development arcs, and ever-churning transfer portal, guarantees that a handful of genuinely elite programs will slip through the cracks every spring. A team loses too many seniors. A key transfer hasn’t yet suited up. A new coaching staff hasn’t had the chance to prove itself. The voters see the question marks and leave the blank space, and then the season begins and the blank space starts filling itself in — loudly.
As the 2026 season heads into its second month, the updated national rankings across NCAA Division II, NAIA, and NCAA Division III tell their usual story — and as usual, a few of the most compelling teams were absent from the rankings in the preseason. Along with the updated rankings is a look at two programs from each small-school division that began the year without a place in the Perfect Game Top 25, but have spent the weeks since making the case for inclusion. Some are deep resume-builders with wins over ranked opponents. Others are quietly dominant statistical juggernauts plowing through their conferences. All of them are national title conversations waiting to happen.
NCAA DII
Heading into 2026, the University of West Florida was left out of the preseason rankings. Despite a strong season in 2025 in which they advanced to the Super Regionals, they had heavy roster turnover and their .287 team batting average from a year ago didn’t exactly scream “threat incoming.” The preseason prognostication looked right past Pensacola — and the Argonauts couldn’t care less. Through 29 games, UWF sits at a scorching 23-6 overall and 13-5 in Gulf South Conference play, riding a five-game win streak with a .793 winning percentage that demands attention. They swept the opener against then-ranked Florida Southern, took series from Rollins, Montevallo, Delta State, and Union and have been absolutely punishing teams at home — going a blistering 16-1 at Jim Spooner Field.
The offense that supposedly couldn’t mash? Gone. Zack Stokes has already cleared more home runs this season than any player on last year’s roster managed all year — a one-man wrecking crew making defenses pay for every mistake. And on the mound, Colton Dorsey has been nothing short of electric, giving the Argos the kind of anchor arm that changes a team’s identity entirely. This isn’t a fluke — this is a retooled roster that took the chip on its shoulder and turned it into a battering ram.
The North Georgia Nighthawks were also left out of the preseason rankings. Big mistake. Through 32 games, UNG sits at 25-7 overall and a blistering 15-2 in Peach Belt Conference play, torching opponents to the tune of a .335 team batting average and posting 318 runs scored against just 150 allowed. The infusion of transfer talent has paid dividends in a big way — Ben Hamacher, arriving from Georgia College, is hitting a scorching .409 with 17 steals and is an absolute nightmare in conference play (.493 average in league games), while Brody Yeomans, who made the jump from USC Aiken, is slugging .590 with 6 home runs and 41 RBI, proving that the portal can be a pipeline if you know how to shop it. Holding it all together in the middle is senior Brady Skipper, turning in the best campaign of his career — hitting .342 with 30 RBI, 14 stolen bases, and the kind of steady, professional at-bats that set the tone for everyone around him.
On the mound, the Nighthawks have been equally stingy, keeping opponents to a paltry .259 average while racking up 222 strikeouts. Andrew Duval, who made the move from DI Charleston, has been a legitimate ace — sitting 6-0 with a 3.37 ERA in 42.2 innings, fanning 44 batters and giving the Nighthawks a rock-solid No. 1 to build around. Senior Matthew Heard has answered every call as a co-anchor of the rotation, going 5-1 with a tidy 3.66 ERA and a miserly 1.14 WHIP, doing exactly what you need from a veteran who’s been around the block. The polls didn’t think North Georgia was worth ranking — the scoreboard begs to differ.
| Rank | NCAA | State | 2026 Record | Lst Wk. | Prev Rk. |
| 1 | Pittsburg State Gorillas | KS | 25-3 | 3-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Point Loma Sea Lions | CA | 27-4 | 3-1 | 2 |
| 3 | Tampa Spartans | FL | 22-4 | 3-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Catawba Indians | NC | 23-5 | 3-1 | 4 |
| 5 | Colorado Mesa Mavericks | CO | 25-3 | 3-0 | 5 |
| 6 | North Greenville Trailblazers | SC | 25-6 | 5-0 | 6 |
| 7 | Texas Tyler Patriots | TX | 22-8 | 4-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Central Missouri Mules | MO | 23-5 | 4-0 | 8 |
| 9 | Grand Valley State Lakers | MI | 20-4 | 4-0 | 9 |
| 10 | Belmont Abbey Crusaders | NC | 21-8 | 5-0 | 14 |
| 11 | Minnesota State Mavericks | MN | 15-6 | 0-0 | 10 |
| 12 | Lenoir-Rhyne Bears | NC | 21-5-1 | 3-1 | 11 |
| 13 | Wingate Bulldogs | NC | 23-7 | 2-2 | 13 |
| 14 | Francis Marion Patriots | SC | 24-6 | 3-1 | 12 |
| 15 | Young Harris Mountain Lions | GA | 23-6 | 4-0 | 16 |
| 16 | East Stroudsburg Warriors | PA | 13-7 | 3-0 | 17 |
| 17 | Seton Hill Griffins | PA | 16-5 | 4-0 | 19 |
| 18 | Augustana Vikings | SD | 18-5 | 3-0 | 20 |
| 19 | Westmont Warriors | CA | 17-5 | 3-0 | 21 |
| 20 | West Alabama Tigers | AL | 23-6 | 2-2 | 18 |
| 21 | Angelo State Rams | TX | 20-9 | 3-1 | 23 |
| 22 | West Florida Argos | FL | 23-6 | 5-0 | 25 |
| 23 | Cal State Monterey Bay Otters | CA | 21-5 | 4-0 | 24 |
| 24 | North Georgia Nighthawks | GA | 25-7 | 2-2 | 22 |
| 25 | UNC Pembroke Braves | NC | 19-9 | 0-4 | 15 |
NAIA
When Jeremiah Robbins returned to Harris Field this season, he didn’t exactly come back quietly. The three-time NAIA National Champion and LC State Athletics Hall of Famer — who spent seven years rebuilding Umpqua Community College’s program before answering the call back to Lewiston — walked back in and hit the ground sprinting. Despite being left out of the preseason rankings, the Warriors have absolutely torched the early schedule and now sit at a blazing 22-3 overall. They swept Texas A&M-Texarkana in four games including three shutouts, went a competitive 2-2 against British Columbia on the road before closing that series with a 13-6 hammer, swept Warner Pacific in four, and have continued to roll from there. The caveat — and it’s a fair one — is that the Warriors haven’t yet run the full gauntlet of elite upper-ranked competition back-to-back over a sustained stretch, so some measured reservation is still warranted. But look at the margins this team is winning by, the runs they’re piling up, and the way they’re limiting opponents, and it becomes genuinely hard to make the case the record would look much different regardless of who’s been across the diamond.
The personnel making it happen are the real story. Jackson Jaha, bringing Division I pedigree from Oregon, has been a force at the plate through his first 14 games — the kind of bat that changes how pitchers approach an entire lineup. Transfer Brandon Nguyen has been equally electric, headlining the series finale win at UBC and flourishing in the leadoff role that Robbins identified for him before the season even started. On the mound, the rotation transitions have paid off in spades: Jackson Cloud moved from a bullpen/spot-start role last year into a full-time starting assignment and has delivered, and Landon Webb made the exact same leap — bullpen arm to rotation anchor — with the same results. This is a team that hits for average, plays clean fundamental baseball, doesn’t manufacture losses, and has a Hall of Fame coach calling the shots from the third-base box.
Despite their strong pedigree, the Bellevue Bruins were left out of the Perfect Game preseason rankings and the Bruins responded by going out and crushing opposition. That’s not hyperbole — this is a team that swept Central Methodist in four games (12-8, 11-1, 15-5, 11-9), swept three from Science & Arts, took two of three from preseason #11 Webber International in Florida, and split a pair with state rival Concordia at a neutral-site. Through 26 games, Bellevue sits at 23-3, riding an 11-game win streak, going a perfect 4-0 in Frontier Conference play, and having done the overwhelming majority of their damage on the road or at neutral sites — they’ve played just four home games all season. The path ahead still runs through a Frontier Conference slate that the Bruins should dominate, and the reasonable expectation is that they’ll not only win the conference but host in the NAIA Opening Round come May.
The numbers behind the record are staggering. The Bruins are slashing a collective .342 as a team with 45 home runs in 26 games, putting up 230 runs against just 112 allowed. Carter Claerhout, who made the move down from DII Southern Arkansas, has been a flat-out force at the plate — hitting .408 with 9 home runs, 27 RBI, and a .757 slugging percentage while anchoring first base. Ayden Makarus, the Canadian sensation who also put in time at LSU Eunice, is picking up right where he left off and looking even sharper — .358 average, 9 bombs, 35 RBI and a .765 slugging clip that is absolutely terrifying. Out of the bullpen, Brody Burnette is doing something that deserves a double-take: 10 saves in 12 appearances, with a 1.17 ERA and just 1 walk in 15.1 innings — that’s not a closer, that’s a shutdown machine. And Kody Butt, who posted a 9.33 ERA a year ago, has been completely reborn in 2026 — a 2.87 ERA with 39 strikeouts across 31.1 innings, the kind of turnaround that wins staff development awards. The Bruins aren’t sneaking up on anyone anymore. The record says so.
| Rank | NCAA | State | 2026 Record | Lst Wk. | Prev Rk. |
| 1 | LSU Shreveport Pilots | LA | 28-4 | 3-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies | GA | 27-2 | 3-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Cumberlands Patriots | KY | 22-5 | 3-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Southeastern Fire | FL | 23-7 | 4-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Taylor Trojans | IN | 24-3 | 2-0 | 5 |
| 6 | Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs | TN | 24-9 | 3-1 | 6 |
| 7 | Johnson Royals | TN | 25-4 | 4-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Missouri Baptist Spartans | MO | 18-4 | 4-0 | 10 |
| 9 | Keiser Seahawks | FL | 22-7 | 3-1 | 9 |
| 10 | Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes | KS | 23-5 | 3-1 | 12 |
| 11 | William Carey Crusaders | MS | 22-9 | 4-0 | 13 |
| 12 | Ottawa Braves | KS | 27-5 | 4-0 | 15 |
| 13 | Loyola Wolf Pack | LA | 22-10 | 3-1 | 16 |
| 14 | Bellevue Bruins | NE | 22-3 | 4-0 | 14 |
| 15 | Hope International Royals | CA | 20-11 | 2-3 | 11 |
| 16 | Lewis-Clark State Warriors | ID | 22-3 | 4-0 | |
| 17 | St. Thomas Bobcats | FL | 19-11 | 2-3 | 8 |
| 18 | Abraham Baldwin Stallions | GA | 23-9 | 4-1 | 18 |
| 19 | A&M Victoria Jaguars | TX | 24-9 | 5-0 | 20 |
| 20 | Texas Wesleyan Rams | TX | 26-5 | 3-1 | 19 |
| 21 | Doane Tigers | NE | 18-7 | 2-2 | 17 |
| 22 | Louisiana Christian Wildcats | LA | 26-6 | 2-1 | 22 |
| 23 | Huntington Foresters | IN | 22-5 | 4-0 | |
| 24 | Concordia Bulldogs | NE | 17-11 | 2-2 | 24 |
| 25 | Our Lady of the Lake Saints | TX | 21-11 | 1-3 | 23 |
| DROP | Nelson Lions | TX | 21 | ||
| DROP | Freed-Hardeman Lions | TN | 25 |
NCAA DIII
Bridgewater College came into 2026 without a spot in the preseason rankings. They put together solid seasons, but haven’t really reached the level of being a national power. The voters looked at that résumé and shrugged. The Eagles promptly went to California, went to Newport News, and started disassembling ranked opponents with the casual ruthlessness of a team that has a point to prove. Through 21 games, Bridgewater is 18-3 overall and 3-3 in ODAC play and owns a win résumé that would make most programs blush: an 18-1 demolition of then Christopher Newport on the road, a sweep of Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks, a 12-4 pasting of Pomona-Pitzer in Claremont. This week they’ve already added a dominant 11-5 road win over #17 Shenandoah. Their three losses have all come in ODAC play — a conference that has bitten them before — but the non-conference body of work is the stuff of legitimate NCAA tournament contenders. Senior outfielder Bryce Suters has been an absolute menace at the plate all season, delivering the kind of production that makes scouts take notice and pitchers lose sleep.
On the mound, Bridgewater hasn’t overpowered opponents — but they’ve been efficient, sporting a team ERA roughly a third of what the opposition has posted against them. Cam Nuckols and Lucas Cash give the Eagles two reliable rotation anchors who keep the offense in the game, and Tanner Evans has been brilliant in the bullpen, functioning as the late-inning lockdown arm that every postseason contender needs. Ashton Smith, who earned All-ODAC Third Team honors a year ago, is in the conversation for DIII All-American recognition this season — his bat has taken a step forward that the advanced metrics were probably projecting all along. This is a team built to get hot in May, and if they can find their footing in ODAC play over the back half of the schedule, the NCAA selection committee is going to have a very hard time looking the other way.
It’s been a long time since the Rhodes College Lynx made the national polls feel their presence, and the 2026 season may be the year that drought finally ends. Under new head coach Rob Schrier — who spent 20 years as associate head coach before taking the helm following the retirement of the legendary Jeff Cleanthes — the Lynx have come roaring out of the gate at 15-4 overall and 3-0 in SAA play, enough to crack the Top 25 for the first time in years. The résumé is real: wins over Belhaven, a thorough sweep of Centre College in three games (15-10, 9-8, 12-2), and a body of work good enough to earn a ranking heading into a key SAA series with Sewanee this weekend. The 2018 NCAA regional heartbreak — a pair of losses to East Texas Baptist, who went on to win the national title — cast a long shadow over this program, and the Lynx have been consistently good since without quite breaking through. This might be the year the ceiling gets raised.
The offense is the engine. Corbin Martens has been mashing all season — .338 with 7 home runs, 31 RBI, and an OPS north of 1.100, the kind of numbers that make him one of the most dangerous bats in the SAA. Catcher Cooper Angilly is hitting .373, a figure that remarkably eclipses what he posted in his previous two seasons combined, and is turning into one of the breakout stories in DIII baseball. Ben Daniel pulls double duty as both a rotation starter and one of the more productive bats in the lineup at .349 with 3 home runs. On the mound, Daniel and fellow starter David Albert have been the backbone of the staff — both carrying sub-2.00 ERAs, a fun quirk being that both men have first names as surnames (as does reliever Finn Patrick, though he’s only logged one inning so far). Andrew Carron has been the steady hand out of the bullpen, posting a 3.24 ERA in 16.2 innings of relief with two saves. The Sewanee series this weekend is the perfect measuring stick for a team that looks ready to stop being “consistently good” and start being genuinely great.
| Rank | NCAA | State | 2026 Record | Lst Wk. | Prev Rk. |
| 1 | Lynchburg Hornets | VA | 15-3-1 | 3-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Denison Big Red | OH | 14-1 | 5-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Johns Hopkins Blue Jays | MD | 16-4 | 5-1 | 3 |
| 4 | Salve Regina Seahawks | RI | 10-1 | 4-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Salisbury Seagulls | MD | 13-5 | 3-2 | 5 |
| 6 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags | CA | 16-5 | 3-1 | 6 |
| 7 | UW-Whitewater Warhawks | WI | 8-3 | 2-0 | 7 |
| 8 | Kean Cougars | NJ | 13-3-1 | 3-0 | 9 |
| 9 | Trinity Tigers | TX | 12-7 | 4-1 | 11 |
| 10 | Rowan Profs | NJ | 8-2 | 3-0 | 13 |
| 11 | Cal Lutheran Kingsmen | CA | 17-5 | 2-1 | 12 |
| 12 | Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens | CA | 14-7 | 2-1 | 15 |
| 13 | Endicott Gulls | MA | 6-5 | 2-1 | 8 |
| 14 | Bridgewater Eagles | VA | 17-3 | 2-1 | 14 |
| 15 | Belhaven Blazers | MS | 17-3 | 3-1 | 16 |
| 16 | Rhodes Lynx | TN | 15-4 | 4-0 | |
| 17 | Shenandoah Hornets | VA | 19-3 | 3-1 | 18 |
| 18 | Christopher Newport Captains | VA | 15-5 | 2-0 | 17 |
| 19 | Centre Colonels | KY | 14-5 | 0-3 | 10 |
| 20 | Cortland State Red Dragons | NY | 10-6-1 | 3-0 | 20 |
| 21 | Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets | OH | 12-3 | 3-0 | 22 |
| 22 | Washington Bears | MO | 15-3 | 5-0 | 23 |
| 23 | Messiah Falcons | PA | 9-7 | 4-0 | 24 |
| 24 | Gettysburg Bullets | PA | 15-3 | 2-2 | 21 |
| 25 | Roanoke Maroons | VA | 15-4 | 3-0 | 25 |
| DROP | Case Western Reserve Spartans | OH | 19 |