GORHAM, Maine – For the first time since the 2021 season, the University of Southern Maine Huskies' baseball team has earned a national-ranking. Sitting at 22-6 overall and 10-1 in the Little East Conference, the Huskies are ranked no. 28 in the most recent American Baseball Coaches' Association (ABCA) Division III Coaches Poll (April 21).
Hitting .344 as a team, the Huskies possess a high-powered offense that has pushed 337 runs across home plate, and is averaging just over 12 runs per game. Southern Maine's 337 runs are currently ranked 17
th in NCAA Division III Baseball, while its .344 average is 11
th in Division III. The Huskies have scored 20 or more runs in five games with a season-high 27 in a 27-1 seven-inning win over UMaine Farmington in early April.
The Little East Conference's top fielding team with a collective .962 fielding percentage, Southern Maine has turned 15 double plays this season, backing up a strong pitching unit. Ranked first in the Little East, and 66
th in NCAA Division III for earned run average, the Huskies' pitching staff has combined ERA of 4.86.
Leading the pitching staff are juniors
Colin McDonald (Gorham, Maine),
Carson Black (Porter, Maine) and
Gabe Gifford (Bradley, Maine) with have ERAs of 2.30, 3.23 and 2.34 respectively. Freshman
Hayden Strout (Charleston, Maine) has had a fantastic rookie campaign with a 2.57 ERA. Gifford is ranked 9
th in NCAA Division III in Strikeouts per Nine Innings (13.50), while both Carson and McDonald are one and two in the LEC in wins – McDonald is 7-0 followed closely by Black at 6-0.
Senior
Kyle Douin (Augusta, Maine) and junior
Peter Keblinsky (Ellsworth, Maine) led the Huskies' in batting average hitting .407 each. Keblinksy is 46-for-113 with 12 doubles, a home run and 32 RBI, while Douin is 46-for-113 with seven doubles, four triples and eight home runs for a team-leading 40 RBI. Junior
Evan Baschnagel (Garden City, NY) is right behind hitting .374 (37-for-99) with a .557 on-base percentage as the Huskies' lead off hitter. Baschnagel has eight doubles and eight home runs with 29 RBI.
2026 NCAA Division III Baseball Coaches Poll
|
| April 21, 2026 |
| Rank |
School |
Record |
Points (First) |
| 1. |
Denison (Ohio) |
28-1 |
750 (25) |
| 2. |
Lynchburg (Va.) |
29-3-1 |
721 |
| 3. |
Salve Regina (R.I.) |
26-3 |
698 |
| 4. |
Wisconsin-Whitewater |
25-3 |
656 |
| 5. |
Rowan (N.J.) |
24-5 |
585 |
| 6. |
Johns Hopkins (Md.) |
27-8 |
573 |
| 7. |
Bridgewater College (Va.) |
28-8 |
568 |
| 8. |
Shenandoah (Va.) |
28-7 |
563 |
| 9. |
Mount Union (Ohio) |
26-6 |
545 |
| 10. |
Kalamazoo (Mich.) |
28-4 |
513 |
| 11. |
Kean (N.J.) |
26-9-1 |
456 |
| 12. |
Salisbury (Md.) |
23-9 |
439 |
| 13. |
Christopher Newport (Va.) |
23-10 |
404 |
| 14. |
Washington-St. Louis (Mo.) |
26-9 |
396 |
| 15. |
Baldwin Wallace (Ohio) |
22-8 |
376 |
| 16. |
Wittenberg (Ohio) |
24-6 |
343 |
| 17. |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) |
23-11 |
331 |
| 18. |
Montclair State (N.J.) |
27-7 |
315 |
| 19. |
Belhaven (Miss.) |
25-10 |
286 |
| 20. |
Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) |
22-11 |
273 |
| 21. |
Rhodes (Tenn.) |
24-9 |
260 |
| 22. |
Adrian (Mich.) |
23-8 |
242 |
| 23. |
Tufts (Mass.) |
21-8 |
210 |
| 24. |
Endicott (Mass.) |
21-7 |
165 |
| 25. |
Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) |
24-7 |
135 |
| 26. |
East Texas Baptist |
26-10 |
104 |
| 27. |
Millikin (Ill.) |
25-8 |
101 |
| 28. |
Southern Maine |
21-6 |
86 |
| 29. |
Cal Lutheran |
22-12 |
79 |
| 30. |
SUNY Cortland |
23-8-1 |
76 |
| |
Others Receiving Votes: Maryville College (Tenn.) 67, Piedmont (Ga.) 50, Wisconsin-La Crosse 38, Whitworth (Wash.) 36, Trinity University (Texas) 33, Russell Sage (N.Y.) 31, St. John Fisher (N.Y.) 27, Transylvania (Ky.) 26, Trinity College (Conn.) 14, Randolph-Macon (Va.) 12, Swarthmore (Pa.) 12, Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wisc.) 11, Centre (Ky.) 6, Ramapo (N.J.) 6, Gettysburg (Pa.) 4, Bethany Lutheran (Minn.) 2, Webster (Mo.) 1.
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