Mavericks Tabbed Fourth in Preseason League Poll
Feb 12, 2016 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha baseball team has been picked fourth in the 2016 Summit League Preseason Coaches Poll, the conference office announced Thursday.
Defending league champion Oral Roberts was tabbed the league favorite and received all five of its possible first-place votes for 25 total points. Fort Wayne, last season's tournament runner-up, came in second with 19 points, and South Dakota State was third with one first-place vote and 17 points. With Omaha garnering 15 points for fourth, North Dakota State (eight) followed in fifth and Western Illinois (six) rounded it out in sixth.
The 2016 season will be the Mavericks' first year with full Division I eligibility for Summit League and NCAA postseason play. UNO returns 18 letterwinners, including five position starters and two starting pitchers, with four All-Summit honorees: senior infielder Clayton Taylor, senior outfielders Cole Gruber and Alex Schultz and senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox. Taylor is a three-time all-conference selection, while Schultz and Gruber have two all-league awards apiece, and Fox has one All-Summit nod. Gruber was the Summit League's leading hitter with a .399 batting average in 2015, and Fox was previously named 2014 Summit League Pitcher of the Year.
UNO finished with a record of 21-31 (12-18 Summit League) for fourth in the league standings in 2015. The Mavericks won back-to-back regular-season titles in 2013 and 2014 during their Division I reclassification period.
Omaha opens the 2016 season on Friday, Feb. 19, facing Eastern Michigan at 1 p.m. (CT) at the Perfect Game Spring Swing in Emerson, Ga.
2016 SUMMIT LEAGUE BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
Team (First-Place Votes) -- Points
1. Oral Roberts (5) -- 25
2. Fort Wayne -- 19
3. South Dakota State (1) -- 17
4. Omaha -- 15
5. North Dakota State -- 8
6. Western Illinois -- 6
Defending league champion Oral Roberts was tabbed the league favorite and received all five of its possible first-place votes for 25 total points. Fort Wayne, last season's tournament runner-up, came in second with 19 points, and South Dakota State was third with one first-place vote and 17 points. With Omaha garnering 15 points for fourth, North Dakota State (eight) followed in fifth and Western Illinois (six) rounded it out in sixth.
The 2016 season will be the Mavericks' first year with full Division I eligibility for Summit League and NCAA postseason play. UNO returns 18 letterwinners, including five position starters and two starting pitchers, with four All-Summit honorees: senior infielder Clayton Taylor, senior outfielders Cole Gruber and Alex Schultz and senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox. Taylor is a three-time all-conference selection, while Schultz and Gruber have two all-league awards apiece, and Fox has one All-Summit nod. Gruber was the Summit League's leading hitter with a .399 batting average in 2015, and Fox was previously named 2014 Summit League Pitcher of the Year.
UNO finished with a record of 21-31 (12-18 Summit League) for fourth in the league standings in 2015. The Mavericks won back-to-back regular-season titles in 2013 and 2014 during their Division I reclassification period.
Omaha opens the 2016 season on Friday, Feb. 19, facing Eastern Michigan at 1 p.m. (CT) at the Perfect Game Spring Swing in Emerson, Ga.
2016 SUMMIT LEAGUE BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
Team (First-Place Votes) -- Points
1. Oral Roberts (5) -- 25
2. Fort Wayne -- 19
3. South Dakota State (1) -- 17
4. Omaha -- 15
5. North Dakota State -- 8
6. Western Illinois -- 6
Players Mentioned
RHP
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OF
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