2025 UMAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll and Season Preview

2/20/2025 10:00:00 AM

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) released the 2025 Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll on Thursday with the Bethany Lutheran College Vikings predicted to win the regular season championship. The poll is voted on by all the head coaches in the conference.
 
2025 UMAC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Bethany Lutheran | 49 (7)
2. UW-Superior | 42 (1)
3. Crown | 36
4. Northwestern | 32
5. Minnesota Morris | 26
6. Northland | 16
7. Martin Luther | 12
8. North Central | 11
 
The 2025 UMAC Baseball Tournament will be held Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10 with Bethany Lutheran College hosting all tournament games at ISG Field in Mankato, Minnesota. The championship is a four-team double-elimination tournament. The tournament champion will receive the UMAC’s automatic qualifying bid to the 2025 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.
 

#1: Bethany Lutheran Vikings (49 Points, 7 First-Place Votes)
 
The Bethany Lutheran College Vikings led the preseason poll with 49 points and seven first-place votes from their conference competitors. BLC won last year’s regular season championship with a 17-4 UMAC record while going 20-14 overall.
 
The Vikings entered the 2024 UMAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed. Bethany Lutheran fell 2-1 to the Crown Polars and 8-3 to the Northwestern Eagles.

Head Coach:
  • Ryan Kragh | 24th Season
Top Returners:
  • Nolan Spence, Sr, 3B
    • 1st team UMAC
    • .412 ave, 47 hits, 36 RBI
  • Aidan Russell, Sr, 1B
    • 1st team UMAC, All Region, Player of the year
    • .365 ave, 46 hits, 9 HR, 41 RBI, 11 SB
  • Drew Hedtke, Jr, RHP
    • 1st team UMAC, All Region, Pitcher of the year
    • 5-2, 2.03 ERA, 63 Ks, 6 CG’s
 

#2: UW-Superior Yellowjackets (42 Points, 1 First-Place Vote)
 
The University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets placed second in the preseason poll with 42 points and one first-place vote. Last year, UWS went 22-19 overall with a 14-7 record in the UMAC to tie for third place in the conference.

The Yellowjackets were the No. 3 seed in the 2024 UMAC Tournament. UW-Superior won their first two games in the tournament, winning 12-0 over the Northwestern Eagles and 4-0 over the Crown Polars. The Yellowjackets then battled the Polars on the final day of the tournament, falling twice as Crown secured the postseason championship.
 
Head Coach:
  • TJ Oakes | 4th Season
Top Returners
  • Aiden Pfeifer, Jr., RHP
    • 2024 All-UMAC First Team
    • 2.25 ERA | 7-2 WL | .209 BAVG
  • Tanner Voight, Jr., INF
    • 2024 All-UMAC HM
    • .344 BA, 8 HRs, 33 RBIs, .623 SLG
  • Payton Steiner, Sr., OF/RHP
    • 2024 All-UMAC First Team
    • .343 BA, 26 RBIs, .533 SLG%, .427 OB%
 

#3: Crown Polars (36 Points)
 
The Crown College Polars took third in the preseason poll with 36 points. Last year, the Polars went 21-22 overall with a 14-7 record in the UMAC to tie for third place in the conference.
 
Crown entered the 2024 UMAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed. The Polars won 2-1 over the Bethany Lutheran Vikings in game one, fell 4-0 to the UW-Superior Yellowjackets in game two, won 12-2 over the Northwestern Eagles in game three, and then defeated the Yellowjackets twice more by scores of 9-7 and 8-6 on the final day of the tournament to clinch the UMAC Tournament Championship; their second in program history.
 
The Polars went on to compete in the NCAA Regional, where they fell 9-2 to No. 5 UW-Whitewater and 16-5 to Centre (RV) in the double-elimination regional tournament.

Head Coach:
  • Colt T. Sedbrook | 2nd Season
Top Returners:
  • Tyler Bloom: GR, 1B/DH
    • 1st Team ALL-UMAC (DH)
    • 3rd Team D3baseball.com ALL-REGION as a DH
    • .331 AVG, 44 H, 7 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBI, .451 SLG%, .352 OB%
  • Jacob Van Dam: GR, RHP
    • Honorable-Mention ALL-UMAC
    • 3.45 ERA, 13 APP, 5 GS, 47.0 IP, 23 BB & 37 SO, .237 B/AVG
  • Ethan Habetler: SR
    • Honorable-Mention ALL-UMAC
    • .388 AVG, 40 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI, .505 SLG%, .488 OB%
  • Aidan Volk-Specht: GR
    • UMAC Honors: 2022-2023 1st Team ALL-UMAC
    • 7.39 ERA, 16 APP, 7 GS, 35.1 IP, 28 BB & 45 SO, .296 BA/AVG
 

#4: Northwestern Eagles (32 Points)

The University of Northwestern Eagles placed fourth in the preseason poll with 32 points. Last year, UNW placed second in the conference with a 16-5 UMAC record, going 20-23 overall.
 
Northwestern competed as the No. 2 seed in the 2024 UMAC Tournament. The Eagles fell 12-0 to the UW-Superior Yellowjackets, defeated the Bethany Lutheran Vikings 8-3, and then fell 12-2 to the Crown Polars.
 
Head Coach:
  • Jesse Eikum | 2nd Season
Top Returners:
  • Nick Drinken, Gr, P
    • 2024 First Team All-Conference, 2023 HM All-Conference, 2x UMAC Pitcher of the Week | 2x NCCAA All-Region, 2x NCCAA Pitcher of the Week
    • 171 career strikeouts, 4 career complete games, 4.59 career ERA
  • Braden Storts, So, OF
    • First Team All-Conference
    • .331 BA, 47 runs, 18 SB
  • Mark Bligh, Sr, INF
    • 2024 HM All-Conference | NCCAA All-Region, NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week (4/8/24)
    • 2024: .331 BA, 4 HR, 36 RBI
 

#5: Minnesota Morris Cougars (26 Points)

The University of Minnesota Morris Cougars placed fifth in the preseason poll with 26 points. UMM finished fifth in the UMAC last year with a 8-13 UMAC record and a 13-23 overall record.
 
Head Coach:
  • Matt O’Brien | 6th Season
Top Returners:
  • Ben Meuser, JR, 1B
    • First Team All-UMAC | NCAA D3 Leader in RBI/Game
    • .374/.485, 8 HR, 56 RB
  • Ryan McGie, JR, RHP, DH
    • First Team All-UMAC
    • 8 HR, 40 RBI, P: 34 K’s in 23 IP
  • Ethan Schmitz, SR, OF
    • First Team All-UMAC
    • .339 Avg, .487 OBP, 13 XBH
  • Ashton Pauly, JR, MIF
    • First Team All-UMAC
    • .372 AVG, .527 OBP, 12 XBH
 

#6: Northland LumberJacks (16 Points)
 
The Northland College LumberJacks placed sixth in the preseason poll with 16 points. Northland finished tied for seventh in the UMAC last year with a 4-17 UMAC record and an 8-28 overall record.
 
Head Coach:
  • Cal Fougner | 2nd Season
Top Returners:
  • Tyler Murphy, Jr., IF
    • 2024 All-UMAC Honorable Mention
    • .324 AVG, 11 SB’s, 23 runs scored
  • Peyton Solberg Sr., P/IF
    • T-2nd UMAC in Saves (3)
    • .214 Opponent Batting Average, 3.34 ERA
  • Kazdion Mount Sr., P
    • 4.45 ERA, 2-2 w/l record, 1 CG Shutout
 

#7: Martin Luther Knights (12 Points)
 
The Martin Luther College Knights placed seventh in the preseason poll with 12 points. MLC finished tied for seventh in the UMAC last year with a 4-17 UMAC record and a 7-27 overall record.
 
Head Coach:
  • Randy Cox | 16th Season
Top Returners:
  • Parker Winghart, Sophomore, SS
    • 2024 UMAC First Team
    • Broke MLC’s single-season doubles record as Freshman (19), 3rd in all of DIII in doubles, 2nd in hits in an MLC single season (51)
    • 5th in UMAC for BA (.389)
  • Alex Ritter, Senior, 2B
    • 2024 UMAC Honorable Mention
    • .320 BA in 2024, 41 hits, 24 runs
  • Carter Seltz, Senior, OF
    • 2023 UMAC Honorable Mention
    • 25 hits, 13 RBI in 2024
 

#8: North Central Rams (11 Points)
 
The North Central University Rams placed eighth in the preseason poll with 11 points. NCU finished sixth in the UMAC last season with a 7-14 conference record and a 10-23 overall record.
 
Head Coach:
  • Adam Hill | 1st Season
Top Returners:
  • Teagan Burch, Sr, C
    • All UMAC HM
    • .296 AVG, 23 RBI, .879 OPS
  • Caleb Alfaro, So, OF
    • .303 AVG, 3 3Bs, .393 OBP
  • Willy Cruz, Sr, IF
    • .254 AVG, 18 BBs, .426 OBP
 

The UMAC is an NCAA Division III member comprised of eight full-time member schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Bethany Lutheran College, Crown College, Martin Luther College, North Central University, Northland College, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.