NIACC's Ball commits to Dallas Baptist University

MASON CITY - NIACC sophomore first baseman Bryce Ball committed to play baseball Friday at Dallas Baptist University.

Ball, a first-team all-NJCAA Region XI selection as a freshman, visited Dallas Baptist on Thursday and committed to the NCAA Division I program after Friday's fall contest against DCTC at Roosevelt Field.

Ball , a former Newman Catholic all-stater, hit .419 (85 hits) with 22 doubles, seven home runs, 52 RBIs, 47 walks and scored 49 runs during his freshman season with the Trojans. The .419 batting average is the seventh best in NIACC school history, the 22 doubles is tied for third on the school's single-season list and the 85 hits is fifth best on the school's single-season list.

Dallas Baptist was rated the No. 28 program in the nation by D1Baseball.com in their analysis of the top 100 programs in college baseball. The rankings are described as an attempt to assess the overall health of each program in the current era.

Last season, the Patriots advanced to the NCAA postseason for the fourth consecutive year, making them one of just 13 programs to accomplish that feat. DBU also won 40 games for the fourth straight year, joining Florida, Florida State, Louisville, LSU, and TCU on that distinguished list.

The Patriots have also produced the 10th most Major League draft picks in the nation since 2012 with 33 players being selected in the MLB Draft over the past six years.