SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Omaha Mavericks topped The Summit League Preseason Baseball Coaches’ poll released Tuesday by league officials. The Mavericks won their first league title back in 2019 when the last full collegiate baseball season was completed.
Omaha, who received three of the five first-place votes, started the 2020 campaign with a 10-4 record before it was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Mavericks totaled 15 points in the poll and were followed by Oral Roberts, who was just a point behind with 14 and garnered the two remaining first-place votes.
North Dakota State (10) and South Dakota (7) followed in third and fourth, respectively while Western Illinois (4) rounded out the poll in fifth.
The 2021 Summit League slate will feature four-game sets as each of the teams will face off in home-and-away series beginning March 19-21.
#SummitBSB Preseason Notes
- A total of 10 2019 all-league selections return (four first-teamers and six second-teamers) for the 2021 season – Omaha and South Dakota State both have four selections back while Oral Roberts and NDSU both have one.
- Omaha third baseman Breyden Eckhout and outfield Parker Smejkal are the only set of first-team teammates back from 2019.
- All four of the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-Americans from the 2019 season are back for action as sophomores in 2021. That group includes a pair of utility players in South Dakota State’s Drew Beazley and Oral Roberts’ Isaac Coffey along with SDSU righthander Nic McCay and NDSU lefthander Max Loven.
- Loven is the only individual award winner back from the 2019 season. As the Newcomer of the Year that season, the first team All-Summit League performer compiled a team-best ERA of 2.74, fanning 75 in 88.2 innings pitched. He was 2-1 with a 3.13 ERA in four starts in 2020.
- McCay picked up six wins as a rookie to share the SDSU lead in that department and also fanned 81 batters in 77.2 innings of work
- Coffey, who was also a All-League first team selection in 2019, was 2-2 on the mound with a 4.36 ERA and batted .305 with five home runs and 31 RBI. Beazley, who also plays first base and pitches, was a second team All-League performer and has six career homers to go with 30 RBI.
- SDSU’s Brett Barnett rounds out the quarter of first-teamers back from 2019. He had a dominant sophomore campaign, posting a 5-1 record with seven saves and a 1.31 ERA. He fanned 47 in 34.1 innings of work.
- 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.
- Western Illinois will be under the guidance of second-year head coach Andy Pascoe, who only got 13 non-conference games under his belt as a rookie skipper in 2020. Pascoe took over the helm after serving as an assistant coach at Butler for the previous three seasons (2017-19).
#SummitBSB Schedule Notes
- The 2021 season begins Feb. 19 with all five league teams in action. League play starts four weeks later on March 19.
- The first rematch of the 2019 championship game between Omaha and Oral Roberts takes place in Tulsa from April 23-25. The two squads meet again on the second-to-last weekend of the regular season in Omaha, May 14-16.
- The top four teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for The Summit League Baseball Championship scheduled for Erv Anderson Field at the Mavericks’ brand new baseball complex, May 27-29.
| 2021 Summit League Baseball Preseason Poll | |||
| Place | Team | Points (1st) | 2020 Record |
| 1. | Omaha | 15 (3) | 10-4 (0-0) |
| 2. | Oral Roberts | 14 (2) | 6-10 (0-0) |
| 3. | North Dakota State | 10 | 8-9 (0-0) |
| 4. | South Dakota State | 7 | 5-12 (0-0) |
| 5. | Western Illinois | 4 | 0-13 (0-0) |
Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team.
2021 Summit League Players and Pitchers to Watch
Bennett Hostetler | North Dakota State | Sr. | SS
– In 17 starts during the shortened 2020 season, had four doubles, two home runs to go with nine RBI
– Has 159 career starts under his belt entering final collegiate season
Parker Harm | North Dakota State | Sr. | LHP
– In five relief appearances in 2020, went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA while fanning 11 in nine innings of work
– Owns a 7-9 record with a 4.33 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 49 career appearances
Joey Machado | Omaha | Sr. | RHP
– Made four starts, going 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA during shortened 2020 season
– Holds a 12-11 career record with a 4.40 ERA that includes 131 strikeouts in 171.2 innings worked
– All-Tournament team selection in 2019, helping Mavericks to program’s first title
Breyden Eckhout | Omaha | Sr. | 3B
– Recorded five multi-hit games in abbreviated 2020 campaign, batting .280 with four doubles and three RBI in 13 starts
– Owns a .290 career average with four home runs and 24 RBI in 69 career starts and was a first team All-Summit League selection at third base in 2019
– All-Tournament team selection in 2019, helping Mavericks to program’s first title
Adam Oviedo | Oral Roberts | Jr. | SS
– Batted .302 and Led the Summit League with five home runs during the abbreviated 2020 season
– Transferred to ORU after 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
Trey Wolf | Oral Roberts | So. | RHP
– Redshirted in 2020 after posting a 3.10 ERA in a team-high 24 appearances, including two starts
– Posted a 1-3 record with four saves while striking out 35 in 40.2 innings of work
– All-Tournament team selection in 2019 after tossing complete game shutout vs. Omaha to force decisive winner-take-all finale
Adam Mazur | South Dakota State | Fr. | RHP
– Earned No. 1 starter role as a freshman during abbreviated 2020 season, picking up first collegiate win in five shutout innings at Pacific
– Logged 20.1 innings while striking out 18
Drew Beazley | South Dakota State | So. | 1B
– Started all 17 games at first base during shortened 2020 season, batting .239 to go with nine RBI
– Owns a 1-1 record with 14 strikeouts in 17.2 innings of career work out of the bullpen
– Owns a career .264 batting average with six home runs and 30 RBI in 62 games (59 starts)
– Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American and All-Summit League second team performer in 2019
Austin Edwards | Western Illinois | Jr. | RHP
– Recorded a 3.52 ERA in four relief appearances in the shortened 2020 campaign, fanning nine in 7.2 innings of work
– Joined Leathernecks in 2020 after a two-year stint at Ellsworth Community College
Trent Bauer | Western Illinois | Sr. | C
– Batted .286 in 11 starts during the shortened 2020 season, belting two home runs to go with six RBI
– Made 28 starts and appeared in 39 games during his first season with the Leathernecks in 2019
Note: Players to Watch selected by league’s head coaches
