NJCAA Division 1 Baseball Week 1 Poll

CHARLOTTE, NC – Strong starts to the regular season for four Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference baseball teams have been rewarded in the first NJCAA Division 1 Baseball poll of the regular season, with massive moves up the rankings resulting in the conference having four ranked teams.

Among the four ranked teams are two teams placed inside the top 10 of the first regular season poll, as Johnson County has turned a 15-1 start into a jump into the top five of the rankings after being ranked 12th in the preseason poll while outscoring opponents 182-66. The Cavaliers have scored 10 or more runs in 13 of their 16 games and are leading NJCAA Division 1 in home runs (38) and extra-base hits (97). Also off to a fast start is Cloud County, having won nine of their first 10 games, which included a three-game road sweep of preseason number seven Weatherford Community College to go from receiving votes in the preseason poll up to number seven as the Thunderbirds are averaging nearly nine runs per game. Pitching has been the key to the start for Cloud County, having given up four or fewer runs in eight of their 10 games while holding opponents to a .238 batting average.

Also ranked this week from the KJCCC is number 17 Hutchinson, as the Blue Dragons are seven spots from their preseason ranking after starting the year with an 8-1 mark, as the lone loss for HCC came against Des Moines Area Community College in a one-run defeat. Reigning KJCCC West Division regular season champions Barton Community College turned a 9-0 start into the number 25 ranking in the first poll of the regular season as the Cougars have swept a three-game series over Rose State, four game series over Allen, and added a home win over Bethany College JV to be one of only two undefeated ranked teams in this week’s poll.

Outside of Wednesday, at least six games are on the schedule for each of the next six days as non-conference play is in full swing for all 18 conference schools. Highlighting this week’s schedule is a cross-division matchup between Coffeyville and Hutchinson on Thursday and Saturday, along with a top 25 home-and-home series between number four Johnson County and number 13 Iowa Western, which is slated for Friday in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Saturday in Overland Park.