TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State returned to the Perfect Game NCAA Division I Top-25 poll and made their debut in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) as announced by the organizations on Monday.
 
The Sycamores returned to the Perfect Game poll after a five-week hiatus after being ranked No. 24 back on February 26 moving up to No. 17 in the poll following their most recent six-game winning streak. Indiana State also debuted for the first time in the NCBWA poll entering the top-25 as No. 25 according to the organization on Monday afternoon.
 
ISU also received votes for the sixth consecutive week in the USA Today poll finishing just outside the top-25 in the organization's poll compiled by a panel of 31 head coaches at Division I schools.
 
The Sycamores (21-5) enter the polls following a six-game winning streak following a 4-0 week that featured a midweek win over Purdue before taking all three MVC games this weekend against UIC. Indiana State took the 8-7 Tuesday night win over the Boilermakers, before improving to 5-1 in MVC play by sweeping the Flames.
 
Indiana State's six-game winning streak is their third streak of six-plus games in the 2024 season after winning seven in a row to start the year, while adding a seven-game streak from March 3-16 against Southern Miss, Florida A&M, Illinois, and Xavier.
 
The Sycamores' success over the weekend raised Indiana State's team batting average to .285 from the plate paced by Listi (.379) and Hernandez (.376), while Randal Diaz (.308) is also hitting above the .300 mark for the season. Parker Stinson (.280), Pottinger (.278), Josue Urdaneta (.263), and Sears (.256) have all seen their batting averages rise following the start of Missouri Valley play.
 
Indiana State has posted four double-digit hit games over their last five contests, while ISU has connected on 12 home runs over the last five contests. Mike Sears connected on four of those 12 home runs over this past weekend against UIC to raise his season-total to a Valley-leading 12 blasts on the year.
 
The Sycamore pitching staff continues to pace the Missouri Valley Conference and sit among the nation's elite in multiple statistical categories. ISU leads the Valley in ERA (4.28), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.55), strikeouts per nine innings (10.4), and WHIP (1.38), while also pacing the conference in total strikeouts (263) over 227.0 innings.
Indiana State heads back to the road for the first time in over two weeks as the Sycamores begin a five-game road trip on Tuesday evening in Bloomington, Ind. against Indiana. First pitch at Bart Kaufman Stadium is set for 6 p.m. ET with the game to be carried live on B1G+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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