The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 235 is Cal Baptist basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Cal Baptist basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 0
- Bids: 1
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 17.9
- Bids per season: 0.13
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 0
- Conference Players of the Year: 2
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 0
- Conference tournament titles: 1
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Cal Baptist basketball
Cal Baptist is the latest “newer” program to find its way to the rankings, with just eight seasons in Division I. But the Lancers have been excellent, averaging over 17 wins per season and making their first trip to March Madness this past season. They nearly upset Kansas in the round of 64, falling 68-60.
So far, the name to look at is Dominique Daniels. The scoring star posted over 1,700 points in three seasons with the program, averaging 23.2 PPG as a senior. He was also named the WAC Player of the Year, joining Milan Acquaah as the second Lancers player to get the award.
You also have to look at Rick Croy, who has been the head coach all eight seasons Cal Baptist has been in DI. Croy has led them to seven winning seasons, two 20-win seasons, and no fewer than 13 wins in a season, which came in the 2020-21 COVID year.
Going forward, Croy clearly isn’t slowing down, and after the season the Lancers had, they have become an intriguing mid-major destination. It’ll be interesting to see how much better they’ll be able to be as a program after that first tourney bid.