COLBY, Kan. (KJCCC.org) – Two-time defending Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference East Division baseball champion Johnson County Community College has been picked to win a third-straight KJCCC East Division title in the annual KJCCC East Division baseball preseason order of finish as voted on by league head coaches.
The Cavaliers picked up five of eight first-place votes and earned a total of 68 points to edge Cowley College who was picked second with 64 points as neither Johnson County nor Cowley was picked to finish lower than third in the voting. Last season, Johnson earned a second-straight trip to the JUCO World Series by winning the NJCAA Plains District Tournament and finished the season with a 53-13 overall record which included a 28-4 mark in KJCCC east division play and a 28-4 mark at home. Cowley meanwhile went 43-18 last season and 27-5 in the KJCCC east division to finish second while ending the season as one of the final four teams at the NJCAA Plains District Tournament in Wichita.
Kansas City Kansas Community College was picked to finish third and earned a total of 56 points with one first-place vote to finish ahead of Fort Scott Community College who was picked fourth with 47 points after finishing fourth last season in the division. Following the Greyhounds was Coffeyville who was picked fifth with 40 total points and the lone remaining first-place vote followed by Neosho County (35 points), Labette (19 points), Highland (16 points), and Allen (15 points). Since 2016, the KJCCC east division has represented the KJCCC at the JUCO World Series in six of the last seven tournaments (no tournament in 2020 due to COVID) with either Johnson County or Cowley winning the Plains District Tournament in those six seasons.
The action gets underway for the 2025 season on Saturday, February 1st with Johnson County, Labette, and Allen all in action to open their respective seasons with four more east division teams getting their season started the following week. Non-conference action will take place for all nine division schools throughout February before seeing the 32-game conference slate get underway on Thursday, March 6th with each team playing a four-game series against the other eight division foes with two games at each site and running through May 3rd.
The top four teams in the final regular season standings of the east division will earn the right to host a best-of-three series against one of the teams from the west division who finish fifth through eighth in their division with the winners advancing to an eight-team double-elimination tournament that is scheduled for May 13-17. For the first time in KJCCC history, the eight-team double-elimination bracket portion of the tournament is scheduled to take place at Champtown Sports Complex in Park City, Kansas with the brand-new facility set to open in March. The winner of the 2025 NJCAA Plains District Baseball Tournament will advance to the 2025 JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado May 24-31.
