INDIANAPOLIS — Last season’s tournament and regular-season runner-up, Wright State, was unanimously selected as the 2018 conference favorite as determined by the annual preseason coaches poll. Tournament and regular-season champion UIC was tabbed second, followed by Milwaukee, Northern Kentucky, Oakland, and Youngstown State, respectively.
2018 Preseason Poll
Rank, School, (1st), Points
1. Wright State (6) 36
2. UIC 29
3. Milwaukee 20
4. Northern Kentucky 19
5. Oakland 14
6. Youngstown State 8
The Raiders, who return four all-league players from last season’s club, received all six first-place votes in the poll. Among Wright State’s returners are reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year, Ryan Weiss (SP), and fellow First Team All-League selection, Matt Morrow (2B). Last season, Weiss maintained a 2.13 ERA en route to recording a team-best eight wins from the mound. Morrow, one of just four Wright State seniors, led the Raiders in batting average (.333), runs (51), hits (76), and doubles (14) a year ago. Redshirt-senior relief pitcher Derek Hendrixson and sophomore third baseman Seth Gray, who earned Second Team All-League status in 2017, will also return to the Raiders’ lineup. Wright State recorded a 38-21 (21-9 HL) record last season.
Under the direction of reigning Horizon League Coach of the Year, Mike Dee, UIC posted a 39-17 (22-8 HL) record a year ago and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament with a 4-2 win over Wright State in the Horizon League championship game. The Flames saw a league-best six players selected in the MLB Draft, including Player of the Year Rob Calabrese (10th round, 306th pick by the San Francisco Giants) and Pitcher of the Year Jake Dahlberg (21st round, 634th pick by the St. Louis Cardinals). However, UIC returns 2017 Relief Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-Leaguer Alex Padilla, Second Team All-League selection Reid Birlingmair, and All-Freshman Team selection Jacob Key. Last season, Padilla recorded 10 saves while maintaining a stellar 0.45 ERA and striking out 35 batters in 39-and-two-thirds innings. Meanwhile, Birlingmair and Key — both right-handers — combined for 13 wins, with Key posting a flawless 6-0 record in 10 starts.
Milwaukee, which saw catcher Daulton Varsho become just the second player in Horizon League history to be selected within the top two rounds of the MLB Draft (2nd round, pick 68 by the Arizona Diamondbacks), edged Northern Kentucky by a single point for third place in the poll. The Panthers return a pair of all-league selections from last season’s club that posted a 22-32 (10-18 HL) record — First Team All-League selection Ben Chally and Second Team All-Leaguer Trevor Schwecke. In 2017, Chally (.327) and Schwecke (.306) were among four Milwaukee players to bat better than .300. The two combined to hit 19 doubles.
This year’s Horizon League Baseball Championship will take place May 23-26 at the site of the top-seeded team.
