ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) released the 2024 Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll on Thursday with the Bethany Lutheran College Vikings being predicted to win the regular season championship. The poll is voted on by all the head coaches in the conference, who can’t vote for their own team.
The Vikings led the preseason poll with 49 points and all seven first-place votes from their conference competitors. Last year, Bethany Lutheran went 18-3 in conference play to win the UMAC Regular Season Championship; their second in program history.
Entering the postseason tournament as the No. 1 seed, the Vikings defeated the University of Minnesota Morris in the first round, rallying to score three runs in the eighth inning to win 10-9. The next day, Bethany Lutheran won 15-0 over the Crown College Polars. The Vikings and Polars faced each other once more on the championship day of the tournament, where Bethany Lutheran earned a 7-3 victory to clinch their third UMAC Tournament Championship in both program history and the past five years.
Returning for the Vikings this spring is the Third Team All-Region and First Team All-Conference first baseman Aidan Russell, who looks to follow up on his 2023 campaign in which he hit .380, slugged .599, and drove in 41 runs. Gavin Jacobsen also returns to BLC, who earned First Team All-Conference honors last spring after averaging 15.0 strikeouts per nine innings and holding opponents to just a .218 batting average in 51 innings pitched.
The Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets placed second in the preseason poll with 41 points and the remaining first-place vote. UWS placed second in the regular season last spring with a 16-5 UMAC record.
The Yellowjackets were the No. 2 seed in the 2023 UMAC Tournament, where they dropped their first game 15-3 to Crown but bounced back with a 10-5 win over Minnesota Morris. Wisconsin-Superior’s 2023 postseason run ended on the final day of the playoffs, falling 3-2 to Crown in the tournament’s penultimate game.
Isaac Fugere returns to Wisconsin-Superior this spring after winning 2023 First Team All-UMAC honors with a .325 batting average, a .367 on-base percentage, and driving in 27 RBI. Fellow First Team All-Conference member Payton Steiner returns as well for the Yellowjackets after batting .344 with a .388 on base-percentage and driving in 23 runs.
The Crown Polars round out the top-three point recipeints in the preseason poll with 33 points. The Polars finished tied for third place in the 2023 regular season with a 14-7 conference record.
As the No. 3 seed in the 2023 UMAC Tournament, the Polars won their first game 15-3 over the Yellowjackets. Crown then fell in their second game 15-0 to the Bethany Lutheran Vikings. On the final day of the tournament, the Polars won 3-2 over the Yellowjackets but then fell 7-3 to the Vikings.
This spring, Howie Hatton returns for his senior season with Crown. Last year, Hatton earned First Team All-Region honors from both D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). He also earned UMAC Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference honors after batting .486, slugging .746, and hitting eight home runs while only striking out 13 times in 138 at-bats. Hatton has also been named a 2024 D3baseball.com Preseason All-American heading into this season.
The 2024 UMAC Baseball Tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday, May 9-11 at Reynolds Field on the University of Northwestern campus. The championship is a four-team double-elimination tournament. The tournament champion will receive the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the 2024 NCAA Baseball Championship.
2024 UMAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Bethany Lutheran | 49 (7)
2. Wisconsin-Superior | 41 (1)
3. Crown | 33
4. Northwestern | 32
5. Minnesota Morris | 30
6. Northland | 19
T-7. Martin Luther | 10
T-7. North Central | 10
(#) Number of First-Place Votes
1. Bethany Lutheran College Vikings (49 Points, 7 First-Place Votes)
Ryan Kragh | 20
th Season |
2023 Season
18-3 UMAC, 25-11 Overall | 1
st |
Postseason: Defeated Minnesota Morris and then Crown twice to advance to NCAA Tournament. Fell to UW-La Crosse
and Buena Vista at UW-La Crosse Regional.
Top Returners
- Aidan Russell, Jr., 1B | First Team All-Conference | Third Team All-Region | .380 BA, .599 SLG, 41 RBI
- Gavin Jacobsen, Jr., P | First Team All-Conference | 51 IP, 15.00 K’s 9, .218 BAA
- Eli Fest, Jr., OF, | First Team All-Conference | .396 BA, .526 OBP, 34 runs scored
2. University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets (41 Points, 1 First-Place Vote)
TJ Oakes | 3
rd Season |
2023 Season
16-5 UMAC, 21-15 Overall | 2
nd |
Postseason: The Yellowjackets appeared in the UMAC tournament for the seventh-straight season, dating back to 2016.
Top Returners
- Isaac Fugere, Sr., C | All-UMAC First Team | .979 FLD% | .325 BA, 27 RBIs, .367 OB% |
- Payton Steiner, Jr., OF/RHP | All-UMAC First Team | 17-game hitting streak | .344 BA, 23 RBIs, .388 OB% |
- Noah Dagostino, So., INF | All-UMAC Honorable Mention | 23 SB’s | .288 BA, 18 RBIs, .369 OB% |
3. Crown College Polars (33 Points)
Colt T. Sedbrook | 1
st Season |
2023 Season
14-7 UMAC, 22-20 Overall | T-3
rd |
Postseason: UMAC Tournament runner up
TOP RETURNERS:
- Howie Hatton, SR., UTL | UMAC Honors: 2022-2023 1st Team ALL-UMAC, UMAC POY | D3 1st Team All-Region, ABCA-Rawlings 1st Team ALL-Region | Batted .486 BA with a .746 Slugging Percentage, 8 HRs, Only Striking Out 13 times in 138 AB’s.
- Aidan Volk-Specht, SR, LHP | UMAC Honors: 2022-2023 1st Team All-UMAC, UMAC Pitcher of the Week | 4.55 ERA in 55.1 Innings Pitched, 7-3 Record, Appeared in 12 games with 56 K’s.
- Matthew Shaugabay, GR, C | UMAC Honors: Nothing | Batted .302 BA with .463 OBP, 4 Doubles, 3 HR’s, started 24 games, appeared in 30 games.
NEED TO KNOW:
Crown College welcomes first-year Head Coach, Colt T. Sedbrook. Coach Sedbrook has coached as an assistant at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (DII), the Colorado School of Mines (DII), and Colorado Christian University (DII). Coach Sedbrook played his collegiate baseball at the University of Arizona (DI) and played professional baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
4. University of Northwestern Eagles (32 Points)
Jesse Eikum | 1
st Season |
2023 Season
10-11 UMAC, 15-20 Overall | 5
th |
Top Returners
- Bryce Crabb, Sr., P/INF | 3x UMAC First Team All-Conference (’21, ’22, ’23), 7x UMAC Player/Pitcher of the Week | 2x D3Baseball.com All-Region, 2021 ABCA All-Region, 2021 NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team | .341 BA, 3.07 ERA, 47 strikeouts in 41 innings |
- Aaron Severson, Sr., P/INF | 2023 UMAC First Team All-Conference, UMAC All-Academic | 2021 ABCA All-Region | .322 BA, 21 RBIs, 3.73 ERA, 48 Strikeouts |
- Nick Drinken, Sr., P | 2023 UMAC Honorable Mention, 3x UMAC All-Academic, UMAC Pitcher of the Week | 1.69 ERA, 30 Strikeouts, only 6 runs allowed in 32 innings after returning from injury |
Need to Know
The Eagles return their three best pitchers from a year ago (listed above) and are hoping to be healthier in 2024 after Crabb and Drinken played shortened seasons due to injury.
Longtime Eagle assistant coach Jesse Eikum is taking the head coaching reigns after a 28-year run from former head coach Dave Hieb.
5. University of Minnesota Morris Cougars (30 Points)
Head Coach Matt O’Brien | 5
th Season |
2023 Season
14-7 UMAC, 19-19 Overall | T-3rd |
Postseason: Lost in UMAC Tournament (0-2)
Top Returners
- David Steffen, Jr., IF/P | Honorable Mention All-UMAC | .414 BA, 15 SB, 5 2B, missed final 12 games of season |
- Ben Meuser, Jr., 1B | First Team All-UMAC | .331 BA, 10 2B, 5 HR |
- Jacob Schaaf, Jr., P | 2022 First Team All-UMAC | 5-0, 3.50 ERA, 35 K in 36.0 IP, missed 2023 season |
Need to Know
This year’s team has no seniors on the roster.
6. Northland College Lumberjacks (19 Points)
Cal Fougner | 1
st Season |
2023 Season
8-13 UMAC, 13-21 Overall | 6
th |
Top Returners
- Zach Ross, Sr, C/1B | 2023 All UMAC | 2023 ABCA All-Region | .379 Batting AVG, 43 RBI’s (2nd in UMAC), 8 HR’s (3rd in UMAC) |
- Andrew Birko, Jr, P | 2023 All UMAC |67 Innings Pitched, 45 K’s, 4.57 ERA |
- Matthew Trager, Jr, P | 2023 All UMAC | 1.71 ERA, .221 Opposing AVG, 0.95 WHIP |
Need to Know
Northland only graduated three seniors from the 22-23 team.
T-7. Martin Luther College Knights (10 Points)
Randy Cox | 15
th Season |
2023 Season
1-20 UMAC, 5-25 Overall | 8
th |
Top Returners
- Mason Cox, Senior, LF | Two First Team All-UMAC selections (2022, 2023) | Holds MLC Single-Season Records in 50 hits in one season (2022), Batting Average (.476) in 2022, Fourth in Slugging Percentage (.649) (2023), Fifth in Slugging Percentage (.629) (2022), and On-Base Percentage (.540) (2022) | Holds MLC Career Records in batting average (.414, minimum of 150 plate appearances), On-Base Percentage (.482, minimum of 250 plate appearances), Second in Career Home Runs (7).| Fifth in UMAC in BA (.412) last season, Led team in hits (40), Led team with 4 HR |
- Spencer Lilienthal, Senior, OF, Utility| 2023 UMAC Honorable Mention, Led team with 29 runs scored last season, third in BA (.307)
- Carter Seltz, Junior, CF | 2023 UMAC Honorable Mention | Other Honors 8th in UMAC in BA (.391) last season, 2nd on team in hits (34)
T-7. North Central University Rams (10 Points)
Devin Lehnhoff | 2
nd Season |
2023 Season
3-18 UMAC, 4-29 Overall | 7
th |
Top Returners
- Teagan Burch, Jr, Utility | 2023 All-UMAC | .424 BA, 29 RBI, 12 2B |
- Christian Rodriguez, Sr, P/C/OF | All-UMAC Honorable Mention | 4.36 ERA, 43.1 IP, .267 BA |