PEMBROKE, N.C. (NCBWA) – Still sporting a nation's-best win streak that dates back to last season, defending national champion North Greenville maintained its perch atop the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II Top 25 Poll on Wednesday afternoon, collecting all but a lone first-place vote.
The Crusaders moved to 10-0 and pushed their multi-season win streak out to 15 games with a weekend sweep of Conference Carolinas foe Barton on Friday and Saturday in Tigerville, S.C. NGU has tacked up 9.6 runs per game through its first 10 outings of the 2023 campaign, while its pitching staff has registered 9.2 strikeouts per 9 innings.
Angelo State, who picked up the only other available first-place vote in Wednesday’s national ranking, is 11-1 after taking three games of its four-game set with UT Permian Basin over the weekend.
Lenoir-Rhyne (No. 25) dove back into Wednesday’s Top 25 after a one-week hiatus, while Valdosta State (No. 24) is back in the national rankings for the first time since Week 13 (May 11) of last season. Rogers State (No. 21), who moved to 9-1 with a four-game weekend sweep of Missouri-St. Louis, is in the NCBWA Top 25 for the first time in the 21-year history of the poll.
| 2023 NCBWA DIVISION II POLL (FEB. 22) | |||||
| Rk. | School [1st place] | Location | Record | Pts. | Pvs. |
| 1. | North Greenville [19] | Tigerville, S.C. | 10-0 | 499 | 1 |
| 2. | Angelo State [1] | San Angelo, Texas | 11-1 | 474 | 3 |
| 3. | Southern Arkansas | Magnolia, Ark. | 7-2 | 459 | 2 |
| 4. | Tampa | Tampa, Fla. | 7-2 | 438 | 5 |
| 5. | Columbus State | Columbus, Ga. | 9-1 | 403 | 6 |
| T6. | Cal State San Bernardino | San Bernardino, Calif. | 9-1 | 349 | 19 |
| T6. | Colorado Mesa | Grand Junction, Colo. | 4-1 | 349 | 8 |
| 8. | West Chester | West Chester, Pa. | 3-1 | 347 | 7 |
| 9. | Southern New Hampshire | Manchester, N.H. | 3-0 | 336 | 9 |
| 10. | Montevallo | Montevallo, Ala. | 9-1 | 330 | 12 |
| 11. | Point Loma | San Diego, Calif. | 8-3 | 278 | 4 |
| 12. | Illinois-Springfield | Springfield, Ill. | 4-3 | 270 | 10 |
| 13. | Central Oklahoma | Edmond, Okla. | 7-2 | 266 | 13 |
| 14. | UNC Pembroke | Pembroke, N.C. | 9-0 | 255 | 18 |
| 15. | St. Edward's | Austin, Texas | 8-2 | 203 | 15 |
| 16. | Cal Poly Pomona | Pomona, Calif. | 7-1 | 186 | 11 |
| 17. | West Florida | Pensacola, Fla. | 7-2 | 185 | 20 |
| 18. | Millersville | Millersville, Pa. | 7-3 | 161 | 16 |
| 19. | Quincy | Quincy, Ill | 4-3 | 125 | 17 |
| 20. | Molloy | Rockville Centre, N.Y. | 3-0 | 115 | 22 |
| 21. | Rogers State | Claremore, Okla. | 9-1 | 110 | NR |
| 22. | Wingate | Wingate, N.C. | 8-3 | 107 | 24 |
| 23. | MSU Denver | Denver, Colo. | 9-2 | 81 | 23 |
| 24. | Valdosta State | Valdosta, Ga. | 7-3 | 55 | RV |
| 25. | Lenoir-Rhyne | Hickory, N.C. | 10-3 | 47 | NR |
| Also receiving votes: Hawaii Hilo (7-1) 28; Drury (5-1) 20; Missouri Southern State (8-4) 6; East Stroudsburg (4-2) 5; Henderson State (8-3) 5; Franklin Pierce (0-0) 3; Azusa Pacific (6-7) 2; Palm Beach Atlantic (6-1) 2; San Francisco State (7-1) 1. | |||||
| Dropped out: Belmont Abbey (14); Missouri Southern State (21); Hawaii Hilo (25). | |||||
Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. Members receive a membership card, directory, newsletter updates and official votes in the Dick Howser Trophy, Regional Players of the Year and NCBWA All-America voting. The NCBWA also sponsors Division I Players of the Week, the Stopper of the Year, and publication and writing contests.