11u End of Season Rankings Recap 2018-2019

It was a competitive year in the 11u age group this past year, with 4 teams being featured in the Perfect Game national top 100. While Canes Baseball NC - Foster and the SBA Futures have been the top rivals in this age group for the past 2 years, this year it was Canes - Foster who seemed to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Dirtbags Black was also one of the surprises in this age group, settling in at a firm #3 throughout most of the spring right behind the Canes and Futures. Here we recap the seasons for the top 20 11u teams this past year in North Carolina.

  1. Canes Baseball NC - Foster

    The Canes have been a regular near the top of the rankings in this age group for some time, having finished #2 in our 2017-2018 rankings. This year, however, they took over the top spot in the 11u rankings in March and never relinquished the #1 spot. They also finished 9th in Perfect Game's National 11u Top 100 rankings. This spring, the Canes posted a 38-8-1, and a 52-13-1 overall record this past year against one of the most competitive schedules in this age group. This included tournament wins at the USSSA South Carolina Spring Super NIT and the USSSA Northeast Super NIT. In total, they defeated 15 teams who are in Perfect Game's national top 100 including #2 Easton Top Notch (CA), #11 Virginia Stars - Camp, #13 Warstic Hawk Clan (OK), #17 Yalobusha Giants - Pratt (MS), #40 Motor City Hit Dogs (MI), #43 Scorpions Team Easton (TX), #44 Dirtbags Black (x2), #57 Georgia Bandits, #59 Elite Squad (FL), #67 Charleston Revolution - Whittle (SC), #74 5 Star National (GA), #79 Mojo Baseball Gold (OK), #84 Ripcity (VA), and #85 Dallas Tigers - Miller (TX). In addition, they scored wins over NC #6 NCDB Rivercats, #7 Mission Vipers Gold, #8 Dirtbags East, #9 Canes Baseball NC - Naylor, and #11 Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon.

  2. SBA Futures

    Right behind the Canes, were the SBA Futures, who have become the Canes' top rival in this age group over the past several years. The Futures went 54-18 overall this past year and finished 19th in Perfect Game's National top 100 rankings. The Futures scored big tournament wins at the Fall and Spring USSSA Beast of the East Super NITs. Over the past year, the Futures notched 6 wins over teams in Perfect Game's top 100 list, including #3 East Cobb Astros Orange (GA), #11 Virginia Stars - Camp, #25 KC Crusaders (KS), #35 East Tennessee Crusaders (x2), #75 Inferno Black (FL), and #80 East Coast Snipers - Clark/Hill. In addition, they scored wins over NC #3 Dirtbags Black (x2), #7 Mission Vipers Gold, #9 Canes Baseball NC - Naylor, #11 Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon, and #13 SBA Nationals.

  3. Dirtbags Black

    The Dirtbags went a remarkable 41-12 this spring and 57-20-2 overall, and finished 44th in Perfect Game's National top 100. In total, they defeated 10 other National top 100 teams, including #13 Warstic Hawk Clan (OK), #19 SBA Futures, #35 East Tennessee Crusaders, #72 Showcase Baseball - Howze (GA), #80 Southern Nationals (GA; x2), and #94 Rawlings Prospects NC (x4). They also scored a number of excellent wins inside North Carolina, including wins over #5 GRIT, #7 Mission Vipers Gold, #8 Dirtbags East, #10 West Raleigh Blue, #11 Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon, #16 Athlete's Advantage Yard Goats, and #18 Carolina Spinners.

  4. Rawlings Prospects NC

    The Prospects posted a 29-20 record this spring, and a 54-30 record overall as an 11u team. The Prospects were a team that frequently tested themselves against 12u competition this past year, with 9 total losses coming against 12u teams. In addition, they notched a win over national #3 East Cobb Astros Orange this spring. They scored 9 total wins this past year against top 20 teams in North Carolina, 8 of which came against top 10 teams. In total, the Prospects had wins over #6 NCDB Rivercats (x2), #8 Dirtbags East (x2), #9 Canes Baseball NC - Naylor (x2), #10 West Raleigh Blue (x2), and #14 Belmont Bandits this past year.

  5. GRIT

    GRIT was one of the more consistent performers this past year, going 31-9-2 this spring, and 46-16-3 overall this past year. They highlighted their season with wins over national #35 East Tennessee Crusaders, #93 Comanche Baseball (GA), and #94 Rawlings Prospects NC. They also had wins over #6 NCDB Rivercats, #8 Dirtbags East, and #16 Athlete's Advantage Yard Goats this past year.

 

 

 

  1. NCDB Rivercats

    The Rivercats had a very impressive year, going 40-17-1 overall, and 27-9-1 this spring against some of the best competition in the state of North Carolina.  4 of their losses came against 12u teams, with another 10 coming against ranked teams. The Rivercats notched 3 wins against national top 100 teams including #44 Dirtbags Black, #84 Rip City (VA), and #94 Rawlings Prospects NC. Additionally, NCDB scored 4 other wins over top 20 teams in North Carolina including wins against #8 Dirtbags East, #10 West Raleigh Blue, and #11 Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon (x2), and highlighted their year with a title at the D1 Top Gun Summer World Series.

  2. Mission Vipers Gold

    Mission Vipers Gold was one of the more steady teams in the 11u age group this past year. They posted a 30-6-1 record this spring and a 41-14-1 record overall this past year. They scored 3 wins over #12 Mission Vipers Black, two wins over #13 SBA Nationals, as well as a tie against #11 Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon this spring. In addition, they defeated 10u #1 SBA Futures 3 times over the past year, which is no small feat, even for an 11u team.

  3. Dirtbags East

    Perhaps no one in the 11u age group played more than Dirtbags East this past year. In the spring, Dirtbags East went 34-19-1, and for the year had an overall record of 62-24-1, which comes out to an impressive 87 total games this past year! In total, the Dirtbags played 15 games against top 20 teams in North Carolina, and notched wins over #4 Rawlings Prospects NC, #6 NCDB Rivercats (x3), #7 Mission Vipers Gold, and #9 Canes Baseball NC - Naylor.

  4. Canes Baseball NC - Naylor

    The Canes from Wilmington rolled to a 27-12-1 record this spring, and a 41-17-1 record overall this past year. Over the course of the year, the Canes notched two wins over #6 NCDB Rivercats, as well as wins over #8 Dirtbags East, and #16 Athlete's Advantage Yard Goats. They highlighted their spring with a run to the finals at the Triple Crown Summer Nationals, before falling to an excellent Invaders Baseball team from Virginia.

  5. West Raleigh Blue

    Much like the younger age groups, West Raleigh Blue was again one of the top teams in the 11u age group this past year. They went 31-12 this spring across travel ball and all-stars play, and 46-17 overall this past year as an 11u team. They posted a total of 5 wins over top 20 North Carolina teams including wins over #3 Dirtbags Black, #4 Rawlings Prospects NC (x2), and #13 SBA Nationals (x2). They also notched a win over Rip City (VA), who finished 84th in Perfect Game's National top 100 rankings.

 

 

 

  1. Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon

    Canes - Slaydon went 21-20-2 this spring, and 32-28-3 overall this past year. While at first glance this record may not seem befitting of a top 15 team, more in-depth analysis of their record demonstrates just how high their competition level was. 11 of their losses came against 12u competition. In addition, another 3 losses came against teams in Perfect Game's National top 100 (#35 East Tennessee Crusaders, #67 Charleston Revolution - Whittle (SC), and #93 Comanche Baseball [GA]). They notched 4 wins over ranked 11u teams including #3 Dirtbags Black, #7 Mission Vipers Gold (x2), and #10 West Raleigh Blue. In addition, they notched a win over nationally ranked Comanche Baseball as well as 12u #13 Kernersville Bulldogs.

  2. Mission Vipers Black

    Mission Vipers Black went 26-10-1 this spring and 37-17-2 overall this past year. They faced off against numerous top 20 competition, and scored 4 total wins over other top 20 teams. This included wins over #7 Mission Vipers Gold, #13 SBA Nationals, #14 Belmont Bandits, and #18 Carolina Spinners, all of which came this spring.

  3. SBA Nationals

    The SBA Nationals were a new team to to our rankings this spring, appearing in the first week of our rankings this spring, and never dropping out thereafter. They went a combined 40-18-1 this past year, and 25-10-1 this spring, across USSSA, Atlantic Coast, Top Gun, and Ripken play. They scored a win over 10u #1 SBA Futures, as well as wins over #12 Mission Vipers Black and #16 Athlete's Advantage Yard Goats this year to highlight their seasons.

  4. Belmont Bandits

    The Belmont Bandits are a team that does not play fall baseball as many of their players are competing in other sports, such as football. This means they do not appear in our fall rankings, however they have regularly been one of the top teams in this age group so we were ready to see them make some noise this spring. They posted a 29-13 record this spring, including wins over #11 Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon and #18 Carolina Spinners, as well as Mizuno ATL, who is currently ranked 58th in Perfect Game's 11u National top 100. They peaked at 7th in our rankings, however a 1-5 finish to the year dropped them a bit to the 14th spot.

  5. Roberson RAMblers

    The RAMblers posted a 24-11-1 record this spring and a 44-17-1 record this past year. Based out of Asheville, the RAMblers were a bit difficult to feel we could accurately rank. They have an excellent record, as well as a fair number of excellent showings against 12u competition. However, they only posted one win over a top 20 team, an impressive win over #6 NCDB Rivercats, this spring. Nevertheless, our best assessment of the RAMblers has them somewhere in the second half of the top 20 based their strong performance over the past year.

 

 

 

  1. Athlete's Advantage Yard Goats

    The Yard Goats were not an easy team to follow from afar this year. They started last fall as a team with the GRIT organization, but transitioned to Athlete's Advantage this spring. As best we can tell, they posted a combined 20-11-1 record this past year across USSSA, NC GameOn Sports, and other play. They posted wins over #11 Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon and #17 Equip, as well as a tie against #9 Canes Baseball NC - Naylor.

  2. Equip

    Equip, hailing from Boone, was another of the state's incredibly well-performing teams from the mountain region. They went 27-10-1 this spring, and 35-14-2 overall this past year. They scored one win over a top 20 team, with a victory of #18 Carolina Spinners. They highlighted their impressive 11u campaign with a run to the finals of the Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth League World Series finals.

  3. Carolina Spinners

    The Carolina Spinners played a number of quality opponents this past year, and posted an excellent 33-10 record this spring and a 55-16 record overall this past year. They had 6 total wins over top 20 teams, including wins over #12 Mission Vipers Black (x2), #15 Roberson RAMblers, and #19 Athlete's Lab (x3).

  4. Athlete's Lab

    Like Equip and the Roberson RAMblers, Athlete's Lab, from Hickory, is another of our very competitive teams from the mountain region. They went 26-13 this spring, and 46-18 overall this past year as an 11u team, and are owners of one of the best win percentages across the state. However, they did not defeat any teams in our top 20 so their competition level brings them down a bit in our top 20.

  5. Carolina Titans - Ambrose

    Carolina Titans - Ambrose was another team that was a bit difficult for us to follow this past year. They posted a 22-5 record in Top Gun play, including a title at the D2 Winter World Series. They also had several wins at the 12u level to highlight their run as an 11u team.