TCC ends season atop FCSAA rankings

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (May 2, 2013) – The Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) released its final Baseball Coaches' Poll of 2013 on Tuesday and, like the six previous weeks, it had Tallahassee Community College on top. 

Tallahassee (45-8), whose 45 wins are the most of any FCSAA school, received 16 of the 17 first-place votes and 169 points in the voting to easily outdistance No. 2 State College of Florida, who received the remaining first-place nod. 

The current seven-week run as the FCSAA No. 1 is the longest in school history. 

Fittingly, the top four teams in the rankings won its respective conference championships and automatically qualified for the upcoming NJCAA Gulf District/FCSAA Tournament in Lakeland, Fla. – Tallahassee (Panhandle), State College of Florida (Suncoast), No. 3 Miami Dade College (Southern) and No. 4 St. Johns River State College (Mid-Florida). 

The next three teams in the poll also qualified for the postseason – No. 5 Seminole State College (Mid-Florida Runners-up), No. 6 Palm Beach State College (Southern Conference Tournament Champions) and No. 7 Chipola College (Panhandle Runners-up). 

Either No. 8 Polk State College or No. 9 Hillsborough Community College will round out the eight-team tournament and be Tallahassee's first-round opponent. 

Hillsborough hosts St. Petersburg College on Thursday in the regular season finale. If Hillsborough wins, the Hawks are in; however, a St. Petersburg victory means Polk State will go to the postseason and have the opportunity to defend its 2012 title. 

Gulf Coast State College rounds out the top ten. 

Tuesday was also release day for Perfect Game's JUCO Top 50 and, for the second straight week, Tallahassee garnered a No. 2 ranking. In fact, the top three teams in the poll are from Florida – the Eagles are bracketed by No. 1 Miami Dade and No. 3 State College of Florida. 

Throw in No. 25 St. Johns River State, No. 38 Seminole State and No. 48 Chipola and next weekend's tournament is certain to possess a national tournament level environment. 

Some teams like Miami Dade, a prospect-rich club which could yield as many as ten draft picks in June, have been on the national radar virtually all season. Others, like Tallahassee, have made a steady climb towards the top. 

"When you consider that Tallahassee wasn't really in strong consideration for our pre-season top 50 and likely won't impact this year's draft in a significant way, the team has enjoyed a remarkable 2013 season and its No. 2 national ranking is very deserving," said Allan Simpson, Vice President/National Coordinator for Perfect Game. "It's a tribute to Mike McLeod and his staff for getting every last ounce of ability out of almost every player on the roster." 

In addition to the FCSAA and Perfect Game rankings, Tallahassee is ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA Division I Baseball Poll. The next NJCAA poll will be released May 8.