Taylor Cracks Top-10 in Third In-Season Rating
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the first time in program history, the Taylor baseball team has cracked the top 10 in an in-season NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 Rating, coming in right at No. 10 in the third midseason poll of 2025.
TU (28-5, 19-1 CL) has continued its best start ever, sweeping four of the five Crossroads League series it has played while being on pace to eclipse the 40-win mark before the regular season ends.
The lineup’s regular top-six hitters have led the Trojans to an explosive offensive start to 2025, slotting in at 11th in the NAIA in runs scored. Kaleb Kolpien ranks tied-15th nationally with 47 RBIs, while teammates Sam Gladd, Mason David and Brayden Manning each rank in the top-five in the Crossroads League of the same category.
Left-handed hitters have done their share of damage in head coach Kyle Gould’s lineup. Luke Picchiotti is tied-fifth in walks (34) and Gladd is tied-10th in home runs (14) among NAIA batters, while Kolpien and Luke Sutter are both batting over .400 to place themselves among the five best hitters in the CL.
The pitching staff has been even more dominant, ranking third in WHIP (1.14) and 10th in ERA (3.77) in the nation. Right-handed starters Gabel Pentecost and Brody Fine have over-powered opposing bats, with Pentecost ranking tied-second in the NAIA in wins (eight), ninth in strikeouts (71) and 10th in strikeouts per nine innings (13.79) among arms with at least 50 strikeouts. Fine is just behind TU’s ace, coming in at 14th nationally with his 13.15 strikeouts per nine innings. The tandem ranks one-two in the Crossroads League with a 0.90 and 1.06 WHIP for Fine and Pentecost, respectively.
No. 10 Taylor opens a road series at Saint Francis (16-16, 13-7 CL) starting Thursday at 1 p.m.