RSC Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll: IU Southeast On Top
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- The 2023 River States Conference Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll has Indiana University Southeast on top once again. The Grenadiers, who have won the past two RSC Baseball Championship tournaments, are predicted as the first-place team this year by the 10 RSC baseball head coaches.
IU Southeast led the poll with 80 votes. The Grenadiers received eight of a possible nine first-place votes as well. Point Park (Pa.) University was picked second in the poll with 74 votes and the remaining two first-place votes. Indiana University Kokomo was third with 60 votes followed very closely behind by Midway (Ky.) University predicted in fourth place with 59 votes.
IU Southeast marched to the conference regular season and postseason title last year at 40-15 overall, 20-4 RSC. The Grenadiers made another appearance in the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, and they still have players from their NAIA World Series trip two years ago. IU Southeast is ranked No. 18 in the NAIA Top 25 Preseason Poll this year. Reigning RSC Player of the Year Trevor Campbell returns for his final season as well as RSC All-Conference Second Team selection Lane Oesterling.
Point Park was 38-16 last year, 18-6 RSC and finished runner up in the regular season and the conference tournament to IU Southeast. The Pioneers are "receiving votes" nationally in the preseason Top 25.
IU Kokomo is coming off a season of 26-22 overall and 16-7 RSC for third in the standings last year. Midway was fourth place last year with its 13-10 RSC record and was 19-31 overall.
University of Rio Grande (Ohio) came in fifth in the poll with 48 votes. That is one spot up from where the RedStorm finished last year with a record of 10-12 RSC. Oakland City (Ind.) University was 30-21 last year, 11-1 RSC and dropped one spot this preason to fifth in the poll with 43 votes.
The next spots in the poll switched from last year as well with WVU Tech getting 30 votes for seventh place and Brescia (Ky.) University coming in eighth with 27 votes. Ohio Christian University placed ninth in the poll with Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College back in the baseball conference and checking in at 10th.
The top six teams by conference winning percentage will qualify for the RSC Baseball Championship postseason. The RSC has two automatic bids to the NAIA Baseball National Championship this year. The regular season champion and postseason No. 1 seed will receive the conference's first bid with the postseason champion earning the other. If the regular-season champion wins the postseason championship as well, the tournament runner-up will advance to nationals with the second automatic bid from the RSC.
2023 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE BASEBALL COACHES' PRESEASON POLL
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
1. IU Southeast (8) -- 80 votes
2. Point Park (Pa.) (2) -- 74 votes
3. IU Kokomo -- 60 votes
4. Midway (Ky.) -- 59 votes
5. Rio Grande (Ohio) -- 48 votes
6. Oakland City (Ind.) -- 43 votes
7. WVU Tech -- 30 votes
8. Brescia (Ky.) -- 27 votes
9. Ohio Christian -- 16 votes
10. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) -- 12 votes