End of Fall Rankings Recap 11u 2018

SBA Premier and the TPA Nationals, who finished the 2017-2018 as our #1 and #2, respectively, in this age group continue to appear to be the class of the 11u age group this fall. They posted a combined 32-11 record this against largely regional and 12u competition, although they did not face off against one another this fall. Beyond the top 2 teams, there were some outstanding performances, familiar faces, and some new teams making appearances in the 11u rankings this fall. Here we recap the 11u rankings and provide our rationale for why the rankings turned out the way they did.

  1. SBA Premier

    SBA Premier ended the 2017-2018 seasons as the top 10u team in North Carolina. This fall they played a largely 12u and/or regional schedule, facing off against several 12u teams and numerous teams from outside of North Carolina. They posted an overall record of 18-6, with 5 of their losses coming against 12u competition. Their only loss against 11u competition came against FCA Blue Claws - Hannah (FL), who are currently ranked 2nd in the USSSA 11u Majors National Power Rankings. Against NC teams, SBA Premier posted victories over #5 Dirtbags Black and #6 Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon. They notched two wins over Crusaders Baseball (TN), the 16-4-1 East Coast Snipers (SC), and PRO Select (SC). They also scored wins over 12u #6 LBC Attack and 12u #12 Vision Bandits, as well as a tournament win at the USSSA Fall Beast of the East.

  2. TPA Nationals

    The TPA Nationals finished #2 in our top 20 after going 14-5 this fall season.

    Right behind SBA Premier in the 11u age group are the TPA Nationals. They posted a 14-5 record this fall, playing a similar schedule as SBA Premier, focusing on 12u and Southeast regional competition. Of their 5 losses, 4 came against 12u competition. Their only loss to an 11u team came against Crusaders Baseball (TN). 10 of their 14 wins came against 12u teams as well. They also notched wins over PRO Select (SC) and the 19-4-1 Charleston Revolution.

  3. West Raleigh Blue

    West Raleigh Blue posted a 15-5 record this fall. Impressively, they had 0 losses against NC 11u teams this fall. Of their 5 losses, one came against a 12u team, one came against PRO Select (SC), and 3 came against the 27-0 Virginia Stars - Camp, who may be the best team in the entire Southeastern United States. They also scored wins over #4 Rawlings Prospects NC, #12 Carolina Thunder, #19 Rock Solid Red, and PRO Select.

  4. Rawlings Prospects NC

    The Prospects posted an impressive 24-11 record this fall. Among their 24 wins, they notched numerous wins over top 20 teams including wins over #7 Dirtbags East, #9 Port City Rebels, #10 NCDB Rivercats, #12 Carolina Thunder (x2), and #14 Akadema Heat. In addition, 3 of their loss came against 12u competition with another 5 losses coming against top 20 11u teams, further indicating the strength of their schedule this fall.

  5. Dirtbags Black

    Dirtbags Black had another impressive season, notching a 16-8-2 record across all competition this fall. The Dirtbags scored a number of impressive victories this fall, including wins over #4 Rawlings Prospects NC, #14 Akadema Heat, and #20 Alamance Patriots. They also notched wins over excellent out-of-state teams PRO Select (SC) and Showcase Baseball - Howze (GA). Their two ties came against #8 Carolina Havoc and the Alamance Patriots. In addition, 6 of their losses came against #1 SBA Premier, FCA Blue Claws - Hannah (FL), the East Cobb Astros Orange (GA), Virginia Stars - Camp, and PRO Select (x2) with another loss coming against 12u competition.

  1. Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon

    The Canes, previously known as the East Rowan Mustangs, went 11-8-1 this fall against an exceptionally competitive schedule. All of their losses came against either 12u competition (x5) or ranked 11u teams (#1 SBA Premier, and 1-run losses against #13 GRIT - Koonin and #19 Rock Solid Red). Along they way, they scored 4 wins over 12u competition as well as wins over #12 Carolina Thunder and Rock Solid Red.

  2. Dirtbags East

    Dirtbags East has been one of the top teams in this age group for some time, and this fall was no exception as they posted a 28-5 record this season. Among their 28 wins, they notched 5 wins over top 20 teams including wins over #4 Rawlings Prospects, #10 NCDB Rivercats, #12 Carolina Thunder (x2), and #19 Rock Solid Red. They also scored 3 wins over 12u wins, compared to only 1 loss against 12u competition. Their 4 losses against 11u teams came against the Rawlings Prospects, the Carolina Thunder, #14 Akadema Heat, and Virginia Stars - Camp.

  3. Carolina Havoc

    The Havoc posted an 18-6-1 record this fall season, including going 7-0 over their last 7 games of the fall. Along the way, they scored a win over #13 GRIT - Koonin and a tie against #5 Dirtbags Black. Of their 6 losses, one came against #18 Carolina Spinners and one came against PRO select (SC) - who by now you should have noticed has fared quite well against some of best 11u teams in NC. Other losses came at the hands of the 19-4-1 Charleston Revolution, the 12-4 Greenville Titans (SC), and 14-6 Team 24 Gamecocks - Bailey (SC).

  4. Port City Rebels

    The Rebels are one of the top teams out of the Wilmington Area and they finished with a 14-5 record this fall season. The started the fall season impressively, going 7-0 including two wins over #10 NCDB Rivercats and ascended to as high as #6 in our rankings. However a 7-5 finish in their last 12 games including losses against #5 Rawlings Prospects NC and #12 Carolina Thunder slid them down a bit in our rankings.

  5. NCDB Rivercats

    The Rivercats put up a respectable 13-8 record against a combination of 12u and excellent 11u competition this fall season. Among their 13 wins, 4 came against 12u teams and they also notched wins over #5 Rawlings Prospects NC and a win over #12 Carolina Thunder. 3 of their 8 losses came against 12u teams, with other losses coming against Rawlings Prospects NC, #7 Dirtbags East, and two losses by a total of 3 runs against #9 Port City Rebels.

 

  1. GRIT

    GRIT went 15-7-1 this fall season across all competition. They scored one win over a ranked team with a win over their GRIT counterpart, #13 GRIT - Koonin. In addition, they fared well against 12u competition with several wins and only 1 loss.

  2. Carolina Thunder

    The Thunder posted a 13-8 record this fall across Top Gun and AAU play. They notched several wins over top 20 teams including wins against #7 Dirtbags East, #9 Port City Rebels, and #14 Akadema Heat. In addition, they had several losses against top 20 teams including one against #3 West Raleigh Blue, two against #4 Rawlings Prospects NC, two against Dirtbags East, and one against #10 NCDB Rivercats.

  3. GRIT - Koonin

    GRIT - Koonin posted a 9-6-1 record this fall. Included in those wins was one over #6 Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon as well as several at the 12u level. They also posted a 1-1 record against the 12-5 Tuscaloosa Mavericks (AL), and had a loss against #11 GRIT this fall.

  4. Akadema Heat

    The Heat went 13-8 overall this fall across all competition. They played a competitive schedule and highlighted their fall was a win over #7 Dirtbags East. They also had losses against #4 Rawlings Prospects NC, #5 Dirtbags Black, and #12 Carolina Thunder. The Heat peaked at #10 in our rankings this fall after a 9-3 start, but a 4-5 finish across their last two events saw them drop back slightly to finish at #14.

  5. Copperheads - Snell/Heis

    The Copperheads posted an impressive 21-3 record this fall, including going 14-1 in their last 15 games. Although their record was among the best in the state in the 11u age group, their competition level may not have been as high as some of the other teams ranked above them. They did score two wins over #18 Carolina Spinners and had a close loss against #8 Carolina Havoc cementing their status in our 11u top 20.

 

  1. Carolina Titans - Ambrose

    The Titans posted an outstanding 14-1 record in Top Gun play this fall season. Although they did not have any wins over top 20 teams this fall, they did score a tournament win after a 5-0 weekend at the D2 Top Gun Winter World Series that included wins over quality teams such as the Cleveland Wildcats, East Carolina Bombers, and the Carolina Outlaws.

  2. LKN Hurricanes

    The LKN Hurricanes were another team who posted an outstanding record, going 20-3 this fall in Top Gun play. Among their 20 wins, they did have a win over #18 Carolina Spinners. In addition, they had losses against 27-0 Virginia Stars - Camp and a quality SC Jets team.

  3. Carolina Spinners

    The Spinners posted a 22-6 record this fall season, including going 9-1 in their last 10 games. They scored an impressive win over #8 Carolina Havoc in their last tournament of the fall and also had two losses against #15 Copperheads - Snell/Heis and a loss against #17 LKN Hurricanes.

  4. Rock Solid Red

    Rock Solid Red posted an 11-10 record across all competition, going up against a very competitive schedule. Their fall was highlighted by a win over #6 Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon. In addition, they had several close losses against top 20 teams including #3 West Raleigh Blue, Canes Baseball NC - Slaydon, and #7 Dirtbags East. They also had losses against Virginia Stars - Camp and 14-6 Team 24 Gamecocks - Bailey (SC).

  5. Alamance Patriots

    The Alamance Patriots are a difficult team for us to feel we have accurately ranked. They posted an impressive 12-2-1 record this fall season, however their competition level was well below that of many of the teams above them. They did not have any wins over other top 20 wins, although they did have a tie against #5 Dirtbags Black. In addition, they had a loss against Dirtbags Black with their other loss coming against a quality Carolina Outlaws team.