After winning all six weeks of its NCBA matchups in back-to-back weekends, the Grand Canyon University Club Baseball team skyrocketed in the current National Club Baseball Association (NCBA) Rawlings Division I Poll, moving up a whopping eight spots to No. 2 in the nation. It's only the second time in the program's Division 1 history that the Lopes have been ranked that high, and the first time since enjoying the same lofty ranking in the 2019 NCBA Final D1 Poll.
 
The major jump is a surprise to Lopes' fans, but not to those paying attention to the season-long volatility of the NCBA Poll, since the only team above GCU, Utah State University, becomes the third new #1 team in just six polls this season; and three new teams grace the poll this week, with one team – Auburn University – entering the top 20 in the #11 spot. Other than the Tigers, though, the Lopes made the largest rise – bolstered by the fact that the Lopes have won all 12 games this season against NCBA squads. That includes all nine games they've played in the Southern Pacific South Division, and even three wins last weekend at the NCBA Swing Into Spring Tournament in Henderson, Nevada – including wins against then 14^th-ranked UCLA and 18^th-ranked Boise State University. GCU's attack last weekend was led by Lopes' 1^st baseman Sam Ott, who went 7-for-11 at the plate to earn SoPac South Player of the Week honors.
 
While this is tremendous national respect for the Lopes' D1 squad, it has been usurped this season by GCU's Division 2 squad, who have maintained the top spot in the NCBA D2 Poll ever since winning its first-ever national championship last May.
 
The 9-0 record in SoPac South play puts the D1 Lopes in the driver's seat to clinch the division title this weekend in San Diego, California. Two wins or more in their three-game series against the University of California-San Diego will hand the Lopes their fourth consecutive division crown dating back to 2018 (the 2020 race was canceled in midseason and the 2021 season called off entirely due to the COVID pandemic). Once they return from San Diego, the Lopes will finish off their regular season schedule against the University of Arizona by playing their only series of the season at the home of the Lopes' NCAA Baseball squad - Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark - on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30. Saturday will feature only one nine-inning game that weekend, while the two seven-inning doubleheader games will be played on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 10AM both days, and admission is FREE.
 
The current NCBA D1 Rankings are listed below:

Rank	Team	Total Pts	Prev Rank
1	Utah State	349	2
2	Grand Canyon	319	10
3	Cal Poly	309	1
4	Penn State	304	3
5	Central Florida	288	7
6	Michigan	279	6
7	Texas A&M	256	8
8	Miami (OH)	240	11
9	East Carolina	233	5
10	Notre Dame	226	9
11	Auburn	177	NR
12	Virginia Tech	158	15
13	Illinois State	145	NR
14	UC-Santa Barbara	115	16
15	Connecticut	110	12
16	St. Joseph's (PA)	87	19
17	Oregon	65	4
18	UCLA	64	14
19	Florida Gulf Coast	55	13
20	Florida State	54	NR