INDIANAPOLIS – The predicted rank order by the league’s coaches for the spring season has been filed with the release of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour unveiled on Thursday afternoon.
The 2022 spring season promises to be another entertaining journey culminating with the conference tournament at PRASCO Park in Mason, Ohio. Six playoff qualifiers will make the postseason while competing for bids in the NCAA Regional in the national championship bracket.
Four different programs received at least one first-place vote in this year’s preseason coaches poll headlined by Trevecca Nazarene with four first-place votes and a total of 91 points on the ballot. TNU, Tiffin and Ohio Dominican, were also in the final set of regional rankings published before the national tournament selection show.
The NCAA Division II World Series qualifying Trojans experienced the ride of a lifetime that went through Cary, N.C., as the Great Midwest’s first regional champion in the sport of baseball. TNU was 4-0 in the Great Midwest Championship tournament in 2021, fending off a tough Tiffin squad that made the final a close one trying to force the if-necessary game.
The Trojans then carried their postseason momentum to Missouri, taking down regional opponents including future member Northwood in the Midwest portion of the NCAA Championship bracket. TNU toppled Davenport for the Midwest Region title and the right to advance to the World Series.
After last season’s accomplishments, media organizations have taken note. The 36-13 record from 2021 gave Trevecca a top 10 preseason ranking by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) at No. 6. In similar fashion, Collegiate Baseball News has the Trojans with a preseason ranking of eighth as head coach Chase Sain guides the program.
Conference newcomer Ashland was selected as the preseason runner-up following a 24-19 record last spring and garnered a pair of first-place votes by the coaches. The Eagles are also nationally ranked by Collegiate Baseball News at No. 10 and are going to be hungry to leave a lasting impression in their first tour of the Great Midwest schedule.
Ashland edged out Tiffin in the preseason poll by just one vote. The Dragons were polled third with a total of four first-place votes and 81 points. Tiffin was the 2019 conference tournament champion and led the league in hitting last spring with a .311 team batting average.
Ohio Dominican was selected fourth and the Panthers gained one first-place vote. Kentucky Wesleyan is polled fifth with 65 points as the Panthers prowl for another conference tournament title and Walsh, following the graduation of two-time player of the year 1B Andrew Czech and all-region OF Brenden Spaulding, was sixth with 62 points.
Another conference champion, Hillsdale, starts a new coaching era with Tom Vessella in the dugout while Findlay is doing the same with Matt Palm as the new skipper. The Chargers were voted seventh and Malone, a program with a proven track record in the regular season and playoffs, was eighth.
The depth of the conference includes the Oilers at ninth while Cedarville and Lake Erie round things out at No. 10 and No. 11, respectively.
Teams will start as early as February 11 with the conference schedule opening weekend falling on Friday, March 11.
2022 Great Midwest Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Trevecca Nazarene (4 first-place votes) |
91 |
| 2. Ashland (2 first-place votes) |
82 |
| 3. Tiffin (4 first-place votes) |
81 |
| 4. Ohio Dominican (1 first-place vote) |
77 |
| 5. Kentucky Wesleyan |
65 |
| 6. Walsh |
62 |
| 7. Hillsdale |
47 |
| 8. Malone |
37 |
| 9. Findlay |
27 |
| 10. Cedarville |
23 |
| 11. Lake Erie |
13 |