SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Despite seeing a record-run of 19 straight regular-season titles halted a year ago, Oral Roberts found itself in a familiar spot Thursday when league officials released the 2020 Preseason Baseball Coaches’ poll.
The Golden Eagles were picked at the top, totaling 23 points and receiving three first-place votes from the league’s six head coaches. Omaha, the team directly responsible for knocking ORU off its perch, was picked to finish second, garnering 19 points and one first-place vote after hoisting both trophies in 2019.
The remaining two first-place votes went to South Dakota State, who was picked third with 18 points. The Jackrabbits finished second in 2019, just a half-game behind the Mavericks. North Dakota State followed in fourth (16 points), Western Illinois was fifth (9 points) while Purdue Fort Wayne rounded out the poll with five points. The Leathernecks
#SummitBSB Preseason Notes
A total of 17 all-league selections return (nine first-teamers, eight second-teamers) for the 2020 season – South Dakota State’s roster includes seven of those selections. Omaha boasts four all-league returners while North Dakota State, Oral Roberts and Western Illinois each had two.
SDSU’s Gus Steiger is the only returning player with multiple all-league selections to his credit, having earned second-team honors as a freshman in 2018 and first-team honors as a sophomore in 2019. Steiger hit .324, stole a league-high 18 bases and drove in 43 runs last year.
Omaha snapped Oral Roberts’ streak of 18-consecutive regular season and 19-consecutive tournament titles as a league member by winning both trophies in 2019. The Golden Eagles returned to the league in 2015 and had won both titles in each of the prior four seasons.
The Mavericks will have to defend their crown without the services of Pitcher of the Year Payton Kinney, who is now on Omaha’s staff as the pitching coach. Kinney, who was an ABCA/Rawlings Third Team All-American, led the league in ERA (1.96), wins (11) and strikeouts (111) and was named the Summit League Tournament MVP.
Oral Roberts will have to fill the void left behind by reigning Player of the Year Spencer Henson, who led the league in batting average (.362), home runs (19) and shared the league-lead in RBI (51). He was a ninth-round draft pick by the New York Yankees in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft.
North Dakota State returns Newcomer of the Year Max Loven, who ranked second in the league with a 2.94 ERA en route to earning All-Summit League First Team honors as a starting pitcher. He fanned 88 during his first collegiate season and posted a 4-2 record.
Loven was one of four Summit League players to garner Freshman All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball following last season. He was joined in that group by South Dakota State teammates Drew Beazley (1B) and Nic McCay (SP) along with Oral Roberts’ utility player Isaac Coffey (SP/1B). Coffey also landed a spot on the NCBWA Freshman All-America Team.
Western Illinois and Purdue Fort Wayne will both be under new leadership in 2020. Andy Pascoe takes over the helm of the Leathernecks’ program after serving as an assistant coach at Butler for the previous three seasons. Doug Schreiber takes over the Mastodons’ program, returning to collegiate baseball after spending 18 seasons as the head coach at Purdue (1999-2016).
Pascoe will have a pair of First Team All-Summit League selections back to lead his squad. Outfielder Drue Galassi belted 10 home runs and shared the league-lead with 51 RBI a year ago while righthander Javin Drake was one of the top strikeout-men in the league and notched seven wins for WIU.
Third baseman Garrett Mohler will provide a veteran presence for Schreiber. Mohler was the team’s top hitter in 2019 (.285 batting average) and has 95 career starts under his belt.
#SummitBSB Schedule Notes
The 2020 season begins Feb. 14 with all six league teams in action. League play starts four weeks later on March 13.
The first rematch of last season’s championship game between Omaha and Oral Roberts takes place in Omaha from April 10-11. The two squads meet again to close out the regular season in Tulsa, May 14-16.
The top four teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for The Summit League Baseball Championship in Omaha, Neb., from May 20-23.
2020 Summit League Baseball Preseason Poll
Place Team Points (1st) 2019 Record
- Oral Roberts 23 (3) 29-26 (17-12)
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Omaha 19 (1) 31-24-1 (20-10)
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South Dakota State 18 (2) 28-22 (19-10)
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North Dakota State 16 19-24 (15-15)
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Western Illinois 9 22-31 (16-14)
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Purdue Fort Wayne 5 7-45 (2-28)
Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team.
2020 Summit League Players to Watch
Bennett Hostetler | North Dakota State | Sr. | SS
– Led the team in runs (35), home runs (6) and slugging percentage (.413)
– Has 142 career starts under his belt entering his final collegiate season
Max Loven | North Dakota State | So. | LHP
– 2019 Summit League Newcomer of the Year and one of two freshmen named to the All-Summit League First Team
– One of four Summit League rookies to be named to the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America Team
– Led the team with three complete games, ranked second with a 2.94 ERA
– Posted a 4-2 record with 78 strikeouts in 88.2 innings of work
Joey Machado | Omaha | Jr. | RHP
– All-Tournament team selection in 2019
– Tallied a 6-3 record with a 4.65 ERA and 64 strikeouts through 69.2 innings pitched
– Struck out 114 batters in 152.1 innings of career work
Parker Smejkal | Omaha | Sr. | 1B/OF
– First Team All-Summit League selection as an outfielder and named to All-Tournament Team
– Led the team and ranked second in the league with a .329 batting average, a .591 slugging percentage and a .457 on-base percentage
– Also led team in home runs (7), doubles (15) and RBI (43)
Kaleb McCullough | Oral Roberts | Jr. | RHP
– Earned 2019 NJCAA Region 2 All-Region Second Team honors
– Posted a 9-1 record for his NOC-Enid team that won the 2019 NJCAA Championship
– In two seasons at NOC-Enid, fanned 92 batters in 92.1 innings of work
Adam Oviedo | Oral Roberts | Jr. | SS
– Hit a career-high .291 as a sophomore at Texas Christian last season
– In two seasons at TCU, collected 99 hits, 58 RBI and 16 doubles
– Named to the 2019 Fayetteville All-Regional Team and earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors as a freshman and sophomore
Garrett Mohler | Purdue Fort Wayne | Sr. | 3B
– Led team with a .285 batting average in 2019, collecting 51 hits, driving in 26 and scoring 25 runs
– Started 92 career games for the Mastodons and has nine career home runs
Cameron Boyd | Purdue Fort Wayne | Sr. | RHP
– In three-year career, has logged 116 innings and struck out 82 batters
– Moved into the starting rotation as a junior after pitching out of the bullpen in 19 of his first 31 career appearances
Bret Barnett | South Dakota State | Jr. | LHP
– Earned First Team All-Summit League honors in 2019 after registering seven saves, a 5-1 record, and a 1.31 ERA out of the bullpen
– Shared the league-lead with seven saves and fanned 47 in 34.1 innings of work
Gus Steiger | South Dakota State | Jr. | SS
– Earned First Team All-Summit League honors in 2019 after earning all-second team honors in 2018
– Led the Jacks in batting average (.324), runs (45), hits (73), doubles (13) and RBI (43)
– Led the league with 18 stolen bases and had a streak of reaching base in 36 consecutive games
Javin Drake | Western Illinois | Sr. | RHP
– First Team All-Summit League in 2019
– Ranked second in league with a WIU single-season record of 107 strikeouts as a junior and 204 career punchouts are third-most in program history
– Led team with a 4.37 ERA and won Summit League Pitcher of the Week honors three times
Drue Galassi | Western Illinois | Sr. | OF
– First Team All-Summit League in 2019
– Posted career-highs as a junior in batting average (.298), hits (56), runs (35), doubles (9), home runs (10), RBI (51)
– Shared the league-lead with 51 RBI and ranked second in home runs with 10
Note: Players to Watch selected by league’s head coaches
