INDIANAPOLIS - It really doesn’t seem like much time has elapsed since an entire fan base was celebrating the Chicago Cubs and their long-awaited triumph in the World Series. A 162-game season came and went and now at the turn of February, spring training along with pitchers and catchers reporting is just days away from commencement once again.
 
And that signifies the start of the baseball season in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and the rest of the college landscape. As temperatures slowly start to warm up, so will the competition as seven G-MAC teams work to the heart of the league schedule.
 
An exciting finish to the conference tournament in 2016 saw Alderson Broaddus interrupt a three-year reign by Trevecca Nazarene at the top. TNU was still voted as the preseason favorite among the coaches, but the rest of the conference race will be as exciting as ever to monitor.
 
The start of 2017 is a blank slate for all involved. Pitching rotations are formed, bullpens solidified and lineups strategized.
 
Here’s a brief glance around the league leading up to Opening Day in the G-MAC later this week.
 
Alderson Broaddus had a postseason to remember, advancing through the conference tournament bracket unbeaten for the program’s first championship celebration…After the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional, Luke Harrigan departed for a different head coaching position and turned the controls over to first-year skipper Matt Yurish…Preseason All-American and staff ace Randy Dobnak (7-3, 3.16) mixes his pitches well with pinpoint control (89 K/22 BB) to headline the rotation…He was the league leader in strikeouts and shutouts last         season…Dobnak is part of a nine-member senior class that includes G-MAC Championship hero Jordan Martin, slugging all-conference batting champ Marquis Collier (.422/.646/.489) and veteran positional starters Luke Shiflett, Andrew Holderman and Cody Cowart…Cameron Murray and Chuck Hooker each had their shining moments in the postseason and will be key contributors…2016 G-MAC Pitcher of the Year Tyler Stage will be missed along with arms like Trent Shaw, Zach Thompson and Chris Boatto.

 

The new spring for Cedarville is poised to be a bounce-back season for the Yellow Jackets and head coach Mike Manes…Manes projects solid hitting, good defense and aggressive running on the basepaths and the program has adopted a theme for the season centering around focusing on one pitch at a time…Noticeable absences include starting pitcher Garrett Baker (who was pitching as well as anyone), center fielder David Lenhardt and corner infielder Drew Johnson (transfer)…Colton Potter ranked 10th in the league in hitting a year ago with a .344 average…The Yellow Jackets have plenty of experience back from last year’s roster, including senior catcher Jaden Cleland, who attended the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum.

 

Davis & Elkins transitioned to new leadership with Mason Heyne at the helm and the Senators are looking to build off of that experience into year two of the coaching era…A large class of newcomers has entered on the scene trying to build on a 13-win campaign in 2016…Senior pitcher Zach Bradfield was the ringleader for the Senators’ pitching staff and went the distance for a league-leading six complete games…The lefty will be missed as the Senators work to lower their ERA compiled as a unit…It’s also not an easy task replacing a trio of +.300 hitters and program cornerstones with Lance Vannoy, Robbie McKinney and Travis Phelps, all graduating.
 


A school-record 36 wins for Kentucky Wesleyan had the Panthers on the verge of contending for the top seed in the conference tournament (tied TNU for the best regular-season record)…The next step for the program is advancing to the championship final and maybe, as soon as this year, be the last team standing in the bracket…Head coach Todd Lillpop has assembled a deep stable of arms and a lot of familiar faces on last year’s all-conference team are back in the mix…Zach Burton (8-4, 2.57) and Sammy Holder (5-3, 3.60) have both been G-MAC Freshman of the Year in their careers and Ryan Hundley led the league in saves as a rookie…Replacing G-MAC Offensive Player of the Year Troy Paris isn’t easy, but two underrated hitters in Cody Bridges and Jacob Snodgrass were among the league’s best…Andrew Kirkland provides pop with six home runs and it’s really easy to forget that slugger Josh Galvan (grad student status) was a near-.400 hitter and mashed eight home runs in 2015…KWC was the top hitting team in the league a year ago at a .315 clip.

 

The true wild card in this year’s standings could be first-year member Malone after the Pioneers qualified for the GLIAC conference tourney in 2016…The Pioneers went 18-12 in the GLIAC and 27-24…The trio of seniors to keep an eye on are all .300+ hitters with Brenden Wells, Keanan Locke and Ryan Sarbaugh, expected to shoulder a considerable amount of the offensive production…Wells would have been a top-five hitter in the G-MAC last season…Fifteen total freshmen dot the roster heading into the spring…Three pitchers each had four winning decisions…Watch for Braun Miller and Roscoe Blackburn to lead the rotation after both combined for nearly 120 innings…Veteran manager Tom Crank navigated the program to back-to-back conference tournament appearances in 2015 and 2016.


 
Opening day for Ohio Valley comes the quickest before any other G-MAC school…The Fighting Scots beat every conference team at least once last year before running into a tough Kentucky Wesleyan squad that ended their postseason run…Head coach Chad Porter brought in a ton of newcomers that includes 17 total freshmen…OVU heads into the spring with only four seniors, but first baseman Jake Carr was one of the league’s best in hitting with a .342 average…Justin Gil was among the team’s leaders in RBI and Christian Hall played in 42 total games a year ago…One of the most difficult pieces to replace is catcher Cody Morris, the team’s top extra-base threat during his time in Vienna…Starting pitcher and workhorse J.R. Davis logged over 85 innings and will be missed for his ability to go the distance late in games.  


 
Aiming to get back on top following a three-year title run is Trevecca Nazarene, which finished runner-up in the G-MAC Championship to conclude last spring…The Trojans have produced standouts in recent years like Michael Purcell, Hunter Newman and Tyler Tichenor; does TNU head coach Ryan Schmalz have another one in the arsenal?...TNU tied for the best record in the league at 19-5 and were picked as the preseason favorite by the coaches again this year…The Trojans return some of the best arms in the league, including Bryan Smith and John Bolton…Smith and Bolton rank third and fourth in conference history in ERA and are also bookends at the top in career wins with 24 and 21, respectively…Both will be in contention for G-MAC Pitcher of the Year and their senior leadership is key leading the top of the rotation…Senior Bryson Shelton is one of the best run producers the league has seen and has a career average of .362 going into the spring (8th best in G-MAC history)…Senior Mason Dunn is currently tied for second in career saves…TNU is hoping for a healthy Ethan Hurt at the top of the lineup while Ethan Harrison and Clay Staton each produced .300+ lines as starters.