In college baseball, the word powerhouse often brings to mind glitzy SEC schools or elite West Coast institutions. But nestled in the heart of the country, in Warrensburg, Missouri, Central Missouri head coach Kyle Crookes is reshaping that definition.
Over the last 11+ seasons, Crookes has led the Mules to a 479-159 record and five NCAA Division II World Series appearances. That .751 winning percentage is not only the best mark in D2, but also better than Vanderbilt, Arkansas, UCLA, or Oregon’s record over that time frame.
"Logistically, it's not like we're flying charter jets around the country,” Crookes said. “We don't have those kinds of finances to shell out thousands to get kids to play here. But there are great players along the I-70 corridor and in the Midwest. And just finding a niche of guys that work with our system and our personality are important things to us.”
The local recruiting also provides Central Missouri players with an important home-field advantage when it comes to juggling the transition to college athletics.
“Outside of the locker room, we had an amazing support system in our families that made it easier to look forward to competing,” former Central Missouri RHP JD McReynolds said.
McReynolds, originally from Sullivan, Missouri, was a NCBWA First Team All-American in 2023 and was taken in the 10th round by the Texas Rangers in 2024. “Having those types of relationships away from the field made the hardest parts of the game that much more manageable.”
Alongside the importance of local recruiting and team culture, Central Missouri also relies heavily on player retention every season. Even in the transfer portal era, Crookes and his staff still emphasize high school recruiting and building from within.
“We believe in development, you know, from the time they get here when they're 18 to the time they walk out the door, when they are 21, 22, 23,” Crookes said. “Age and experience matter. But I think age and experience in this uniform matter, too.”
And Crookes and his staff have ridden that experience and winning culture to seven straight MIAA conference titles and two straight D2 World Series appearances. But with that success also comes a pressure to uphold winning and the UCM historic legacy.
“When I went on my visit, Coach Crookes handed me a binder with a Mule on it, and a target covering the Mule,” former UCM shortstop Max Holy said. “He said in this conference, that's us. We are the team that everyone wants to beat, so we get everyone’s best every game.”
Holy spent two seasons with UCM from 2023-2024 after transferring in from Iowa Central, and was named First-Team All-MIAA in 2024. Holy was signed by the Houston Astros and is one of 29 former Mules under Crookes who have played professionally.
“It’s such a cool opportunity to see the people that I care deeply for realize some of their childhood dreams,” Crookes said. “And that's a special opportunity to even, you know, share in that experience with them, and just be a small part of what you know what they have done and what they're continuing to do.”
While Crookes and UCM are still looking for their first Mule to debut in the Major Leagues, three former arms in Evan Reifert ‘18, Mason Green ‘21, and Chase Plymell ‘21 are opening the 2026 minor league season in Triple AAA. And with three players drafted in 2025, the pro pipeline under Crookes is only getting stronger. And one of those 2025 draftees, JD McReynolds says, all the credit goes back to the coaching staff and culture in Warrensburg.
“The coaches do a great job at getting the most out of everyday,” McReynolds said. “Not everyday is going to be 100% and they understand that, but there is the expectation of giving 100% of what you have that day.”
This season, the Central Missouri roster is made up of 33 players from Missouri, and Crookes has led the Mules to a 33-12 record on the season. UCM is currently ranked No. 22 nationally and have three regular-season games remaining before the MIAA tournament kicks off on May 6.
Following the MIAA tournament is the rest of postseason play and a potential return ticket to Cary, North Carolina, and the World Series. A MIAA Tournament championship would guarantee the Mules the ticket to the postseason.
The Mules were seeded third in the latest set of NCAA Division II Central Region rankings, one of six MIAA baseball programs that appear.. Pittsburg State (No. 1), Rogers State (No. 2), Northwest Missouri State (No. 5), Missouri Southern (No. 9), and Emporia State (No. 10) are also in the list.
“I think if you talk to any Division II program anyway, they all want to be in Cary,” Crookes said. “What's really, I guess, going to make the difference for this group, is whether we can get the best version of ourselves by the time it's necessary. But you know, if we're able to do that, I like the place we'll be, and we're all motivated to be there.”
Katie Acosta is a journalism student at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.
