Feb. 14– The NSIC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll was released this afternoon, with Wayne State being picked first and Winona State being picked second by the league coaches by a wide margin over the third place team. But from third through sixth, the poll numbers showed a lot of competition, as Concordia University was picked sixth, missing out on third in the poll by just three points. Full PDF Release

The Wildcats garnered six of nine first place votes and 78 total points with the Warriors grabbing up the other three votes and 75 points.

After a substantial drop-off, Southwest Minnesota State hauled in the the third spot with 57 points followed closely by Upper Iowa and the University of Mary with 55, each. Concordia was just one point behind the Peacocks and Marauders, the newest two members in the league.

After the top six, another drop to seventh where Bemidji State picked up 39 points, 15 shy of CU's 54, with Northern State in eighth with 31 and Minnesota, Crookston bringing in 24 points.

The NSIC Preseason Player of the Year is Northern State's Adam Kampsen, a senior third baseman who led the league in hitting with a .392 average last year.

The league's Preseason Pitcher of the Year is Bryan Ruff of Winona State, a senior right handed pitcher who went 3-4 with a 1.98 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 59 innings last year.

The Golden Bears went 30-13 last year to set a school record for most wins in a season and also finished fourth in the league with a 15-7 record.