DII Report: Are you ready for some... baseball?
Okay, not quite yet, but the DII Fall Reports are coming soon to an inbox near you!
Welcome back, DII sports fans. Football season has kicked off and the rest of DII sports are set to get underway this weekend.
First, some housekeeping.
Subscription-based model begins Monday, Sept. 9
As I shared earlier this summer, the weekly DII Report is shifting to a subscription model beginning with next week’s newsletter. First, I want you to understand what you are getting.
Simply put, for $5.99 a month you get information no one else is publishing this time of year. What is this information? We’ll kick things off next week with the DII Report: fall reports, starting with a look at the defending national champion Tampa Spartans and the rest of the gauntlet that is the Sunshine State Conference. What is the fall report, and why do you need it?
I dig into teams, talk to coaches, and get information early in the year so you can get your own watchlists ready. I ask for pitch arsenals and velocities, top transfers, impact freshmen, and hit tools for the expected lineup. If you are new, it looks a little like this (taken from the October 2023 DII Report):
This will not be the sole focus of the DII Report, so if you’re not ready for baseball season, fear not. Beginning around Week 5 of the DII football season (which is actually Week 6 because we start at Week 0. Like, seriously? Week 0? Can sports not be confusing enough?) I’ll start my DII football Super Region predictions, trying to project the 28 teams that will be playing at the end of November for the national title.
By going to a subscription model, I get to write articles on my terms. Share my thoughts on regionalization and the transfer portal. Talk to coaches and post open interviews like I used to do with Bethany Bowman on our three seasons of the DII Nation Podcast.
This is my 10th year covering NCAA sports and my ninth as the fully devoted DII sports beat writer. Telling the stories and promoting the DII athlete is what I’ve always enjoyed doing. I’m excited for you to join me on the next leg of this journey.
Now read this (for free)!
Speaking of DII football season, I’ve already started some preview work at NCAA.com. As a reminder, all my work at NCAA.com will remain free, it is JUST the DII Report that is going subscription.
Now, sit back and enjoy some free content.
Here are the former DII football players on 2024 NFL rosters
It’s my annual breakdown of the DII alums that made it to active 53-man rosters for the NFL season. This year, it looks a little like this:
DII NFL rosters, broken down by the numbers:
There are 12Â defensive backs on NFL rosters. That is the most of any position. Wide receivers are right behind with 11 DII alums.Â
Like last year, Ferris State has the most DII veterans on NFL rosters with Caleb Murphy in Tennessee, Tavierre Thomas in Tampa Bay and Zach Sieler — who is coming off a 10-sack season — in Miami. CSU Pueblo, Fort Hays State, Lenoir-Rhyne, Missouri Western, Pitt State, Sioux Falls and Washburn all have two alums on rosters.Â
As they do most seasons, the Indianapolis Colts have the most former DII football players on their roster. Albany State (GA)'s Grover Stewart — who has started 74 games on the Colts' defensive line since 2019 — Malone's Ashton Dulin, Pittsburg State's Dallis Flowers, Tarleton State's E.J. Speed — who had a career-high 102 tackles in 2023 — and Valdosta State's former Pro Bowler Kenny Moore III all don the horseshoe helmets on Sunday.Â
Get all the names and more info by clicking here.
DII football Power 10 rankings and player-of-the-year watchlist
I also released my preseason Power 10 rankings in which I rank the top 10 and first five out according to a blend of metrics and what coaches and beat writers are seeing. You can read those here. Additionally, I released my first (unofficial) player-of-the-year watchlist. Want to know the 15 players I am watching (spoiler: four of them had monster Week 0s)? Go ahead and click here.