Baseball Rises One Spot to No. 18 in Coaches’ Top 25
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In the midst of an eight-game winning streak, Taylor (13-4, 4-0 CL) rose one spot from its preseason rating to No. 18 in the 2025 season's first NAIA Baseball Coaches' Top 25.
TU's strong start to the season has included three wins over RV St. Thomas, a victory over current No. 14 Ottawa University - Arizona and a tight, one-run loss to current ninth-ranked Arizona Christian. The latest poll shows the Trojans as the lone Crossroads League team garnering Top-25 votes.
Fueling the hot start to the season has been, in part, TU's plate discipline. The lineup has drawn the 13th most walks in the NAIA despite playing fewer games than any other team in the top-25 statistical rankings of bases on balls. The walks, combined with a top-45 batting average and slugging percentage in the NAIA, has the Trojan lineup sitting at 20th in on-base percentage (.447) and 26th in runs scored (159).
Even more impressive has been Taylor's performance on the bump, led by seven pitchers – Gabel Pentecost, Conner Miller, Dalton Swinehart, Brody Fine, Jake Boyer, Wes Hunt and Gage Gongwer – who have accumulated at least 10 innings and posted an ERA of under 3.00.
The pitching staff for TU has worked to a 4.05 earned run average, a 1.17 walks-plus-hits per inning pitched and a 10.93 strikeouts per nine innings rate, figures which rank 22nd, ninth and ninth, respectively, in those statistical categories.
No. 18 Taylor continues its league season at Winterholter Field against Huntington (7-7, 2-2 CL). First pitch of Friday's doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m.