INDIANAPOLIS – Ohio Dominican and Kentucky Wesleyan are viewed as the early front runners in the East and West divisions as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour was released on Thursday morning.
Twelve teams, six in each division, comprise the format for this year’s standings with the top three teams in the East/West along with two wild cards qualifying for the postseason.
The pageantry of PRASCO Park, home of the Great Midwest Championship, is huge incentive to make that playoff push and play past the regular season.
For some, the season starts in just over a week and for others, it will be just a little bit longer to wait for Opening Day. Weather is always a dicey prospect at this time of the year, but student-athletes around the league will be ready for the spring season.
From the coaches’ perspective, the race in the regular season is wide open as three different teams garnered at least one first-place vote in each division.
The East Division will feature Ohio Dominican, Malone, Walsh, Lake Erie, Alderson Broaddus and Ohio Valley. The West Division includes Kentucky Wesleyan, Tiffin, Trevecca Nazarene, Hillsdale, Findlay and Cedarville.
In order, Ohio Dominican, Malone and Walsh, all received four first-place votes in the East Division voting with varying point totals. The Panthers have the slight nod over the 2019 Great Midwest regular-season champion Pioneers going into the spring with 54 points to Malone’s 50.
Walsh was a playoff team for the second time in as many tries as a conference member and although picked third, the coaches view the Cavaliers right in the mix of things at the top. But conference player of the year Andrew Czech is out for the season with an injury and his bat was just lethal in 2019 as the league leader in on-base and slugging percentage. He was also second in batting average and home runs.
Lake Erie recently announced a coaching transaction with former UIndy coach Gary Vaught coming out of retirement to manage the Storm. LEC was planted firmly in the middle of the standings with strong pitching and a breakout season from Trace Peterson at the dish.
Alderson Broaddus was able to clinch a playoff berth in the final series of the regular season and Ohio Valley is looking to get back to the conference tourney after an absence during the 2019 campaign.
The West is going to be just as tough. Tiffin really came out of nowhere to complete a storybook run and finish off a championship tournament run at PRASCO Park in the Dragons first year as a Great Midwest member.
As defending conference champions, Tiffin gained valuable experience in the national tournament and secured victories against Ashland and Bellarmine in the bracket.
Tiffin will be starting the spring looking up only at Kentucky Wesleyan in the West Division after beating the Panthers in a very exciting championship series to end the conference tournament. KWC brings back the top hurler with Great Midwest Pitcher of the Year Devin Smith and there is excitement surrounding the return of player of the year candidate Cody Bridges, who was sidelined for all of 2019.
Trevecca Nazarene is in third, but again, a very close margin trailing Tiffin by just one point and the Trojans still collected two first-place votes. TNU made a statement early last spring, sweeping Malone in four straight; the Trojans are the only program with more than conference title (2013, 2014, 2015).
Hillsdale is looking to get back to the postseason after getting squeezed out in the final series of the regular season following the program’s 2018 championship run. SS Jake Hoover was drafted by the Texas Rangers over the summer and started his pro career while mashing Steven Ring, the league's home run leader, graduated.
Findlay is in the same position trying to get back to the playoffs; the Oilers had some strong wins in the regular season including Tiffin (twice) and Walsh. All-American middle infielder Payton Eeles was the batting king in the conference as a freshman, giving Cedarville a foundation to build upon for the bright future.
Great Midwest Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| EAST DIVISION - School |
Points |
| 1. Ohio Dominican (4 first-place votes) |
54 |
| 2. Malone (4 first-place votes) |
50 |
| 3. Walsh (4 first-place votes) |
47 |
| 4. Lake Erie |
29 |
| 5. Alderson Broaddus |
25 |
| 6. Ohio Valley |
11 |
Great Midwest Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| WEST DIVISION - School |
Points |
| 1. Kentucky Wesleyan (7 first-place votes) |
56 |
| 2. Tiffin (3 first-place votes) |
45 |
| 3. Trevecca Nazarene (2 first-place votes) |
44 |
| 4. Hillsdale |
37 |
| 5. Findlay |
21 |
| 6. Cedarville |
13 |