Baseball in Region 11 is competitive, and the Spring of 2024 aims to be no different.
Division I will be down to three teams this season after the departure of Marshalltown to Division II. Indian Hills, Iowa Western and Southwestern remain to battle out for a spot in the Midwest District Tournament.
Last season Iowa Western finished with the best record in the Region, but the Reivers were bested by Indian Hills who won the Region 11 Championship Game 10 innings --- finishing the game 5-2.
Unfortunately, from there, the Warriors failed to make the National Tournament, losing in the district tournament following their impressive Region 11 victory. This year they will look to retain their place atop Region 11 while also eyeing a return to the World Series.
The Reivers were tagged as the favorite among the three coaches, but not by much. The Warriors have won the region two of the last three seasons, and no team from Region 11 has come out of the District since 2021 (Indian Hills).
Southwestern had one of the biggest turnarounds in the country last season, winning 19 games as opposed to the six games they won in 2022. They will try to compete with the perennial powers.
The top two seeds come season's end will decide who comes out of Region 11 in a best of three series
Division II saw Southeastern and Iowa Central duke it out for the Region 11 crown in 2023. It was Southeastern who walked away with that crown and made a run all the way to the National Championship game before finishing as the 2023 NJCAA runner up. Per usual, there are a number of teams that could come away with the Region 11 crown -- five different teams have earned that title in the past seven seasons. Only Kirkwood has won multiple times (3 - 2018, '21 & '22).
Among the competitors this season the coaches poll suggests that those same Eagles will be battling it out in the top 3 (along with Iowa Central & Southeastern) while DMACC, NIACC and Northeast will also be attempting to fight for one of the top 6 spots.
Ellsworth & Iowa Lakes have finished in the bottom two each of the past four seasons. It's not where you want to be as the bottom three this year are left out of postseason play.
Marshalltown rounds out the teams in Division II after moving over from Division I. The Tigers only finished above Iowa Lakes last year in the conference standings. They'll need to up their performance to qualify for the Region 11 Tournament in 2024.
Division I:
ICCAC Division I Baseball Preview
Division II:
ICCAC Division II Baseball Preview