The William Jewell baseball team has been picked to finish 11th in the 2020 Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason poll, as announced by the league Tuesday. The Cardinals open the season at home on February 18 as they host Minot State for a two-game series.
The Cardinals are coming off a 21-27-1 record last season and went 15-18 in conference play. Jewell returns every day players in
Anthony Hansen,
Nick Modrcin, and
Mason Goade who each appeared in more than 40 games. Hansen hit .306 with 53 hits, which was second on the team, while also finishing with 28 RBI. On the mound,
Mack Stephenson is back for his senior season with more than 40 appearances over the last three years.
Bellarmine University has been selected to win the 2020 GLVC championship, garnering 212 total points and 11 of the 16 first-place votes. Quincy University was in second with 202 points and three first-place votes. The University of Southern Indiana is slotted third in the poll with 186 points and one first-place vote, followed by Drury University (180) and the University of Illinois Springfield (169) in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Maryville University (159), University of Indianapolis (144), Lindenwood University (143), Missouri S&T (117) and Lewis University (106), are slotted sixth through 10
th, while newcomer Lindenwood picked up the final first-place vote.
William Jewell College (71) and Southwest Baptist University (70) are a close 11
th and 12
th, and McKendree University (49), University of Missouri-St. Louis (47), Rockhurst University (33) and Truman State University (32) round out the poll.
Bellarmine was also one of six GLVC teams to earn recognition in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's preseason poll. The Knights lead the league's contingent at No. 14, followed by No. 31 Southern Indiana, No. 38 Quincy and No. 40 Illinois Springfield. Drury and Maryville are receiving votes outside the top 40 poll.
The Conference will host the 2020 GLVC Championship Tournament on May 7-10 at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark, Missouri.
The complete 2020 GLVC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll follows:
| 2020 GLVC Baseball Preseason Poll |
| Place |
School |
Points (First Place Votes) |
| 1 |
Bellarmine |
212 (11) |
| 2 |
Quincy |
202 (3) |
| 3 |
Southern Indiana |
186 (1) |
| 4 |
Drury |
180 |
| 5 |
Illinois Springfield |
169 |
| 6 |
Maryville |
159 |
| 7 |
Indianapolis |
144 |
| 8 |
Lindenwood |
143 (1) |
| 9 |
Missouri S&T |
117 |
| 10 |
Lewis |
106 |
| 11 |
William Jewell |
71 |
| 12 |
Southwest Baptist |
70 |
| 13 |
McKendree |
49 |
| 14 |
Missouri-St. Louis |
47 |
| 15 |
Rockhurst |
33 |
| 16 |
Truman State |
32
|
