Our NCAA DII Baseball Players Can Hit the Ball
We all have heard a Little League coach tell a batter to "Hit the ball". These guys were listening. As a group, they are hitting .292. That is higher than Lou Piniella, Jim Eisenreich, and Hal McRae.
Today, we look at the NCAA Division II hitters who came from Missouri and Kansas high schools. Pitchers are not included in this database. There are 253 baseball players playing positions other than pitcher. These include Super Seniors, Fifth year students, and all the way down to true freshmen getting their first looks at a collegiate fastball and slider.
This series reviews batting and pitching for both baseball and softball in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III. If you missed the first editions, you can access them here:
As noted, there is still more DII and DIII baseball and softball to come. Plus, there will be listings of postseason honors and high statistical finishes for these athletes as a season wrap up. Plus there is much, much more content on the way.
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Both Missouri and Kansas are heavily populated with DII schools. Our local talent dominate the rosters of places like Maryville University to the East and Pittsburg State University more to the West. But they also are back East at schools like Barton College and Belmont Abbey College. (Incidentally, Barton defeated Belmont Abbey on Thursday, 9 to 0, in the semi-finals of the winner’s bracket of the Coastal Carolinas Conference Tournament. Blue Springs won out over Blue Valley West in that game.) Some are taking their swings to the South at Palm Beach Atlantic University and Flagler College. And a former Red Raider from Wamego, Kansas is now a Shark at Hawaii Pacific University.
Altogether, they come from 153 high schools and now play for 45 colleges and universities in 12 conferences throughout the land. Take a look at who is getting it down at the plate and on the basepaths. I am focusing on those with 75 or more official At Bats.
The two highest batting averages are owned by seniors, but the next 4 have been produced by sophomores. (This is all on the attached spreadsheet!) Alex Epp (Maize South/William Jewell College) is hitting .435, while just behind at .423, is Jenner Steele (Hollister/Newman University). Jenner’s average is the best in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). The highest BA for a true freshman? That would be .301 produced by Jack Kiser (Park Hill/Newman University).
Jenner Steele (Hollister/Newman University) didn’t just squeak by with the minimum AB’s, he recorded 201 of them. That is the most in this database. Close behind are Carter Young (Lee’s Summit West/Univ. of Central Missouri) and Trey DeGarmo (Andover Central/Fort Hays State) with 199 a piece. Getting the most swings as a freshman is Kaden Owens (Lawson/William Jewell College) who has 153 official AB’s.
The point of any baseball game is to score more runs than you opponent. Doing that big time is Alex Rice (Shawnee Mission Northwest/Southwestern Oklahoma State) with 60 runs. Just behind is Matt Miller (Aurora/Missouri Southern State) who has scored 59 times. Crossing the plate the most often as a freshman is Kaden Owens (Lawson/William Jewell College), with 35 runs scored.
To score, you have to get on base. The best way to get on base is to get a hit. That is what Jenner Steele (Hollister/Newman University) has done 85 times. Carter Young (Lee’s Summit West/Univ. of Central Missouri) has the second most hits with 74. Jenner and Carter are No. 1 and No. 3 in the MIAA in runs scored.
A more rugged way to get on base is to get hit by a pitch. That can never be fun, but is tolerated by some more than others. That is truly taking one for the team. Chase Burgess (Blue Valley West/Univ. of Missouri S & T) has been hit by 20 pitches this season. Chase also leads the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). There are 4 with 18 HBP’s. Treghan Parker (Webb City/Missouri Southern State), Doug Wood (Liberty North (Univ. of Missouri S & T), Colby Sneed (Platte County/Southwest Baptist Univ.), and Jackson Syring (Derby/Southwest Oklahoma State). Treghan leads the MIAA with being hit by a pitch. Jack Kiser (Park Hill/Newman Univ.) is a freshman who has taken one for his team 10 times.
But getting on base isn’t enough to get the run. It helps when someone else follows up with another hit. Matt Miller (Aurora/Missouri Southern State) leads the way with 73 RBI. The 73 are the most in the MIAA. Jenner Steele (Hollister/Newman University) uses his .423 BA to knock in 65 runs. The freshman RBI leader is Kaden Owens (Lawson/William Jewell College) with 30.
Of course, there is a way to get a hit, a run, and at least one RBI with the same stroke of the bat. Yes, that is with a goner, a four-bagger, a bomb, a round tripper, or whatever you want to call it. It is a home run. Matt Miller (Aurora/Missouri Southern Univ.) leads the home run contest with 22. Close behind, and with a leading slugging % of .821, is Jenner Steele (Hollister/Newman University) with 20 goners. Matt and Jenner are also No. 1 and No. 2 in their conference.
Stealing the most bases is fleet-footed Aiden Proctor (Manhattan/Central Oklahoma) who has 34 steals in 39 attempts. That also leads the MIAA. Dakota Sill (Lansing/Univ. of Missouri S & T) has 33 steals, but in only 35 attempts. The most steals without having been thrown out is 10. That is by Kellen Williamson (Battle/Drury University) and Max Elmer (Glendale/Drury University). The thievingest (That word is in the name of a 1957 movie about a kleptomaniac dog, so I get to use it here!) freshman is Brandon Hebrank (Vianney/Rockhurst University) with 6 steals in 8 attempts.
This spreadsheet contains 22 statistical categories for all 253 athletes. They are listed in “AB” order. But first, if you haven’t, please get your free subscription now!
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