ProToppers: ESPN’s Ultimate Rankings WKU breakdown

Over the past several years, ESPN, through their ESPN the Magazine medium, has compiled what they call the “Ultimate Rankings,” which ranks all 122 teams from the NHL, NFL, NBA and MLB and judges them on three categories, of which you can read here, along with the full standings 1-122.

As I saw this list, I thought to myself, where do the clubs of our ProToppers rank on this list? Well, fear not fellow WKU-ers, for I have taken it upon my self to inform you all!

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Let’s start with football. The highest ranked team was Jack Doyle’s Indianapolis Colts, who come in 13th overall and are the second NFL team on the list, behind only the Green Bay Packers. Quanterus Smith’s Denver Broncos come in a not so distant 17th place, and are fourth among all NFL teams, trailing the previously mentioned pair, as well as the New Orleans Saints. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Bobby Rainey come in at 84th overall, better than only 11 NFL clubs, including Jonathan Dowling’s Oakland Raiders who aren’t only the last NFL team, but are 119th. Ouch.

The NBA side of things on our list is, obviously, much smaller, and sees Courtney Lee and his Memphis Grizzlies rank fourth overall (which, should go without saying, is pretty damn awesome) and second in NBA teams only behind the San Antonio Spurs, while Jeremy Evans and his Utah Jazz are middle of the pack, coming in at 68th.

And, finally (just because I’m a nerd), we have our baseball ProTops. However, while we currently don’t have anyone in the show itself, we can still keep track of the parent clubs, because why not. Kes Carter’s Tampa Bay Rays are the highest that feature a ProTopper in their organization, coming in at 35th overall and eighth among MLB teams, followed closely behind Wade Gaynor’s Detroit Tigers, who are 37th overall and ninth in baseball teams. Ryan Huck and his Oakland Athletics are next, coming in 50th overall and 13th among MLB squads. Andrew Edwards and Ian Tompkins are both property of the Kansas City Royals, who are ranked 71st overall (19th in MLB) which is several spots into the bottom half of MLB ranks. Terrence Dayleg’s Miami Marlins (91st overall, 27th MLB) and Ryan Hutchison’s San Diego Padres (106th overall, 28th MLB) round out the baseball portion.

So, to summarize, here is the whole list again, but in numerical order:

4. Memphis Grizzlies & Courtney Lee
13. Indianapolis Colts & Jack Doyle
17. Denver Broncos & Quanterus Smith
35. Tampa Bay Rays & Kes Carter
37. Detroit Tigers & Wade Gaynor
50. Oakland Athletics & Ryan Huck
68. Utah Jazz & Jeremy Evans
71. Kansas City Royals & Andrew Edwards, Ian Tompkins
84. Tampa Bay Buccaneers & Bobby Rainey
91. Miami Marlins & Terrence Dayleg
106. San Diego Padres & Ryan Hutchison
119. Oakland Raiders & Jonathan Dowling

What do you think of how ESPN ranked our ProToppers’ clubs? Who would you change and why? Let us know below in a comment or on twitter at @WaveTheRedTowel.

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