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# Easton Surges Past 700 as New Players Shake Up the NCBA Preseason
Easton surged past 700 points and extended his winning streak to seven as Logan continued his comeback and several newcomers shook up the standings.
# Easton Surges Past 700 as New Players Shake Up the NCBA Preseason
**By Andy Randy | NCBA News**
The NCBA preseason suddenly looks very different.
Easton extended his winning streak to seven and became the first player to surpass **700 rating points**, Logan continued an extraordinary mid-preseason recovery, several newcomers immediately entered the rankings, and Ari's fall from the top continued.
By the end of Wednesday's action, the NCBA had grown to **17 ranked players**.
And for the first time in a while, there is significant separation at #1.
## Easton Reaches 716
Easton entered Wednesday at #1.
He left with his largest lead yet.
Easton defeated Triston 6–4 and survived tiebreaks against Crosby and newcomer Houston to finish another session **3–0**.
Combined with his perfect Monday, Easton has now won **seven consecutive matches**.
His overall preseason record improves to **13–3**, with a league-leading **+21 ball differential**.
Most importantly, his rating has climbed to **716**.
Connor sits second at 549, giving Easton a **167-point advantage**.
After several weeks of constant changes at #1, Easton has suddenly created the first significant gap at the top in some time.
## Logan Is Back
There is no longer much reason to call Logan's improvement a fluke.
The former NCBA Championship runner-up went **3–1 Wednesday**.
And the quality of those victories matters.
Logan defeated Samuel 6–4, upset **#2 Connor 6–5 while ranked #9**, and then defeated Ari 6–4.
His only loss came against Samuel, who pulled off an upset of his own.
Logan has now climbed to **#5 with 281 points**.
Even more impressive is his **+15 ball differential**, second only to Easton among the league's current standings.
After falling near the bottom earlier in the preseason, Logan suddenly looks like a contender again.
## Connor Finally Stumbles
Connor entered Wednesday only seven points behind Easton.
That gap is now 167.
Connor defeated Triston 6–5, but Logan handed him his third preseason loss with a dramatic **6–5 upset**.
Connor remains an excellent **10–3 with 549 points**, comfortably holding second place.
But for the first time in several sessions, Easton has created meaningful distance between them.
The long-awaited Easton–Connor matchup remains unplayed.
## Ari Falls to #10
Few preseason stories have changed as dramatically as Ari's.
At his peak, Ari won seven consecutive matches, reached #1 and became the first player to reach **500 points**.
He is now **#10**.
Ari lost both of his Wednesday matches, falling 6–3 to newcomer Kinsey and 6–4 to Logan.
His record has reached **10–10**, his ball differential has fallen to **-8**, and his rating now stands at just **165**.
A player who once appeared capable of controlling the preseason is suddenly fighting to climb back into the upper half of the standings.
## Newcomers Arrive
Wednesday also brought a major expansion of the NCBA field.
The standings now contain **17 players**.
Several newcomers immediately made an impact.
**Avery** won a 6–4 upset over Kinsey and enters the rankings at #6 with 255 points.
**Makayla** defeated Eve 6–2 and begins at #7 with 254.
**Houston** may have lost his debut, but he took #1 Easton all the way to a **6–6 tiebreak**.
And Kinsey produced perhaps the biggest newcomer result by defeating Ari **6–3**.
The established players suddenly have considerably more competition.
## Seth Gets Going
After beginning the preseason 0–1, Seth finally got more opportunities Wednesday.
He made the most of them.
Seth defeated Daniel 6–4 in an upset and later beat Samuel 6–3.
Those victories move Seth to **2–1 with 253 points and the #8 ranking**.
With only three matches played, there is still plenty to learn.
But Seth is no longer an unknown with a winless record.
## Three Players Sit at Zero
The bottom of the standings has also become increasingly crowded.
William remains at **0 rating points** after a 4–9 start.
Samuel is now **5–15 with a -24 ball differential** and has returned to zero despite pulling off another upset against Logan.
Crosby has also reached the floor at **1–7 and 0 points**.
For the first time this preseason, **three NCBA players simultaneously have zero rating points**.
Samuel continues to demonstrate that he can produce unexpected wins.
The challenge is producing them consistently enough to escape the bottom.
## A League of 17
The latest top five:
**1. Easton — 716 (13–3)**
**2. Connor — 549 (10–3)**
**3. Triston — 334 (13–11)**
**4. Rylee — 302 (2–0)**
**5. Logan — 281 (9–8)**
A week ago, the NCBA looked like a three-player race.
Today, Easton has opened a major lead.
Logan has returned from the bottom.
Ari has fallen from #1 to #10.
New players are arriving.
And 17 names now appear in the standings.
There is still preseason left to play.
But with every session, predicting what the regular season will look like becomes more difficult.
**Andy Randy**
*NCBA News*
**By Andy Randy | NCBA News**
The NCBA preseason suddenly looks very different.
Easton extended his winning streak to seven and became the first player to surpass **700 rating points**, Logan continued an extraordinary mid-preseason recovery, several newcomers immediately entered the rankings, and Ari's fall from the top continued.
By the end of Wednesday's action, the NCBA had grown to **17 ranked players**.
And for the first time in a while, there is significant separation at #1.
## Easton Reaches 716
Easton entered Wednesday at #1.
He left with his largest lead yet.
Easton defeated Triston 6–4 and survived tiebreaks against Crosby and newcomer Houston to finish another session **3–0**.
Combined with his perfect Monday, Easton has now won **seven consecutive matches**.
His overall preseason record improves to **13–3**, with a league-leading **+21 ball differential**.
Most importantly, his rating has climbed to **716**.
Connor sits second at 549, giving Easton a **167-point advantage**.
After several weeks of constant changes at #1, Easton has suddenly created the first significant gap at the top in some time.
## Logan Is Back
There is no longer much reason to call Logan's improvement a fluke.
The former NCBA Championship runner-up went **3–1 Wednesday**.
And the quality of those victories matters.
Logan defeated Samuel 6–4, upset **#2 Connor 6–5 while ranked #9**, and then defeated Ari 6–4.
His only loss came against Samuel, who pulled off an upset of his own.
Logan has now climbed to **#5 with 281 points**.
Even more impressive is his **+15 ball differential**, second only to Easton among the league's current standings.
After falling near the bottom earlier in the preseason, Logan suddenly looks like a contender again.
## Connor Finally Stumbles
Connor entered Wednesday only seven points behind Easton.
That gap is now 167.
Connor defeated Triston 6–5, but Logan handed him his third preseason loss with a dramatic **6–5 upset**.
Connor remains an excellent **10–3 with 549 points**, comfortably holding second place.
But for the first time in several sessions, Easton has created meaningful distance between them.
The long-awaited Easton–Connor matchup remains unplayed.
## Ari Falls to #10
Few preseason stories have changed as dramatically as Ari's.
At his peak, Ari won seven consecutive matches, reached #1 and became the first player to reach **500 points**.
He is now **#10**.
Ari lost both of his Wednesday matches, falling 6–3 to newcomer Kinsey and 6–4 to Logan.
His record has reached **10–10**, his ball differential has fallen to **-8**, and his rating now stands at just **165**.
A player who once appeared capable of controlling the preseason is suddenly fighting to climb back into the upper half of the standings.
## Newcomers Arrive
Wednesday also brought a major expansion of the NCBA field.
The standings now contain **17 players**.
Several newcomers immediately made an impact.
**Avery** won a 6–4 upset over Kinsey and enters the rankings at #6 with 255 points.
**Makayla** defeated Eve 6–2 and begins at #7 with 254.
**Houston** may have lost his debut, but he took #1 Easton all the way to a **6–6 tiebreak**.
And Kinsey produced perhaps the biggest newcomer result by defeating Ari **6–3**.
The established players suddenly have considerably more competition.
## Seth Gets Going
After beginning the preseason 0–1, Seth finally got more opportunities Wednesday.
He made the most of them.
Seth defeated Daniel 6–4 in an upset and later beat Samuel 6–3.
Those victories move Seth to **2–1 with 253 points and the #8 ranking**.
With only three matches played, there is still plenty to learn.
But Seth is no longer an unknown with a winless record.
## Three Players Sit at Zero
The bottom of the standings has also become increasingly crowded.
William remains at **0 rating points** after a 4–9 start.
Samuel is now **5–15 with a -24 ball differential** and has returned to zero despite pulling off another upset against Logan.
Crosby has also reached the floor at **1–7 and 0 points**.
For the first time this preseason, **three NCBA players simultaneously have zero rating points**.
Samuel continues to demonstrate that he can produce unexpected wins.
The challenge is producing them consistently enough to escape the bottom.
## A League of 17
The latest top five:
**1. Easton — 716 (13–3)**
**2. Connor — 549 (10–3)**
**3. Triston — 334 (13–11)**
**4. Rylee — 302 (2–0)**
**5. Logan — 281 (9–8)**
A week ago, the NCBA looked like a three-player race.
Today, Easton has opened a major lead.
Logan has returned from the bottom.
Ari has fallen from #1 to #10.
New players are arriving.
And 17 names now appear in the standings.
There is still preseason left to play.
But with every session, predicting what the regular season will look like becomes more difficult.
**Andy Randy**
*NCBA News*