Once again Webster University and Spalding University are expected to do battle on the baseball field for a conference title. The two teams have met for the conference title in each of the last four seasons with the Gorloks edging out the Golden Eagles as the preseason favorites in 2024.
Webster collected 79 total points and seven first-place votes to earn the early top spot. The Gorloks were 33-16 last season under head coach Bill Kurich and will have plenty of new faces with 24 newcomers joining the squad; including 11 transfers. Familiar faces returning however include three All-Conference hitters in R.J. LaRocco, Evan Evola, and Nathaniel Martinez. LaRocco hit .314 with 9 home runs and 33 RBI while Martinez batted .305 with 11 home runs and a team high 51 RBI. Evola continues to be one of the conference's top hitters; finishing the year with a .346 average and 12 home runs with 44 RBI while slugging .643. Jordan Smevoll will head up the rotation after an All-Conference performance last year while Joel Arsenault was an All-Conference pitcher out of the pen last season.
Spalding University finished with 75 points and three first-place votes to come in 2nd on the poll. The Golden Eagles were 35-12 last season, capturing the program's first ever SLIAC Championship. Head Coach Matt Downs returns seven hitters and every pitcher but one. All-Conference hitters Hunter Strong and Jacob Spanyer will form the heart of the lineup. Strong batted .376 with 8 home runs and 51 RBI while Spanyer hit .374 with 7 home runs and 49 RBI. Ethan Tuttle, Dryden Schroeder, and Matthew McDowell will help fill out the lineup. The pitching staff is arguably the deepest in the league with Wesley Clark, Garrett Mathews, Clay Burton, Jake Mueller, Kayden Krstofiak, and Cameron Rayborn all capable arms.
Finishing 3rd on the poll was Fontbonne University with 63 points. The Griffins finished 25-16 last season under head coach Ryan Good and return the majority of their pitching staff. That staff will be anchored by junior Gavin Kinworthy; who was 8-4 with a 3.18 earned-run average and 96 strikeouts in 79.1 innings last season. Offensively the lineup will be built around Colby Shivers and Ty Kueper. Shivers hit .379 last year with 4 home runs and 21 RBI. Kueper was a .353 hitter and drove in 35 while holding a .494 on-base percentage and drawing more walks than strikeouts. The pitching staff will be headed up by senior All-Conference pitcher Luke Fleener. He went 5-3 last season while leading the team with 69.1 innings pitched and averaged nearly a strikeout per inning. One new face to watch is infielder Miggy Villalobos, a transfer from Alderson Broaddus.
Greenville University tied for 4th with 49 points. The Panthers went 18-21 overall last season but recorded their first winning season in the SLIAC since 2019, going 11-10. Head Coach Lynn Carlson will have a good mix of veterans and underclassmen. Landon Mokris is back for one more year and will look to follow up his career season in 2023. Mokris hit .455 with 10 home runs and 64 RBI, earning All-Conference honors. George Schneider (.365 average with 22 RBI) and Snyder Pennington (.359 average with 28 RBI) give the Panthers a strong infield. Rhett Pennington will roam the outfield and hit .315 last season.
Also receiving 49 points and tying for 4th was Westminster College. The Blue Jays return nearly their entire infield, which includes All-Conference shortstop Payton Whitehead. Whitehead hit .355 with 8 doubles while driving in 30. Jason Pesold batted .310 with 15 RBI while Troy Romero hit .329 with 19 stolen bases in his freshman season. The pitching staff has four returners including All-Conference hurler Derek Archer. The sophomore went 5-3 with 48 strikeouts in 60.1 innings of work last season; earning SLIAC Co-Newcomer of the Year. Joining him in the rotation are Bode Gebbink, Trent Morrow, and Ben Kennebeck. Head Coach Jake Jourdain brings in several newcomers including Keli'i Price, a transfer from Culver-Stockton as the team looks to improve upon their 25 wins from a year ago.
Lyon College picked up 43 points in its first baseball poll, placing 6th. The Scots went 20-25 last spring and will be a young team with just 15 players returning. Head Coach Justin Cunningham will look to Bradley McLemore to lead the lineup. The sophomore hit .298 with 5 home runs and 24 RBI last season. Also back are Jayden Cull (.273 average with 24 RBI) and Logan Lightner (.269 average with 28 RBI). They return their top two innings throwers from a year ago in Ayden Heitmann and Cameron Gordon; who combined for 11 wins and 119 strikeouts.
MUW tallied 34 points for a 7th place showing. The Owls were 6-25-1 last season and bring back 24 players including outfielder Matthew Windham. Windham hit .354 with 2 home runs and stole 9 bases last year. Also back are Austin Telano, Tyler Estabrook, and Avery Benson. Among the nine pitchers coming back for head coach Scott Mularz are Cambell McCluney, Robby Canten, Tyler Temple, and Brandon Fenimore.
Eureka College received 32 points, coming in 8th on the poll. The Red Devils will be helmed by first-year head coach Noah Suarez. He takes over a program that was 13-25 last season but on the upswing after recording their most conference wins (9) since 2010. They return their top three hitters from a year ago, all of which hit over .300. Nick Rulevish led the team with a .353 average and drove in 17 while Mike Dunn provides both a bat (.309 average) and arm (66.1 innings pitched). Chase Ulrich hit .306 and drove in a team high 32 runs.
In 9th was Blackburn College with 16 points. The Beavers program will be under the guidance of co-head coaches Lowell Schwartz and Dalton Fisher after the retirement of long time head coach Mike Neal. The Beavers were 7-30 last season and return 19 players including nine pitchers. The Beavers will look to Isaac Gleaves for continued improvement, he bashed a team high 7 home runs last season, driving in 18. Also back is Andrew Garza, who turned in a solid freshman year with 18 RBI and a .376 on-base percentage. The Beavers also return their top two throwers in Jason Hedges and Alex Coffman.
Principia College closes out the poll with 10 points. The Panthers were 3-27 last season and this year's roster will over half full of newcomers.Ryan D'Amico returns after leading the team with a .323 average. He is joined in the lineup by Ben Perrine, a .268 hitter, who tied D'Amico for second on the team with 14 RBI. The Panthers bring back their top three pitchers from last year in Ethan Booth, Micah Cook, and Salvador Flores. Head Coach Chris Marston expects his large group of newcomers to contribute right away.
2024 SLIAC Baseball Preseason Watch List
Gavin Kinworthy, Fontbonne University
Ty Kueper, Fontbonne University
Colby Shivers, Fontbonne University
Luke Fleener, Greenville University
Landon Mokris, Greenville University
Rhett Pennington, Greenville University
Snyder Pennington, Greenville University
George Schneider, Greenville University
Wesley Clark, Spalding University
Matthew McDowell, Spalding University
Dryden Schroeder, Spalding University
Jacob Spanyer, Spalding University
Hunter Strong, Spalding University
Ethan Tuttle, Spalding University
Joel Arsenault, Webster University
Evan Evola, Webster University
R.J. LaRocco, Webster University
Nathaniel Martinez, Webster University
Jordan Smevoll, Webster University
Derek Archer, Westminster College
Jason Pesold, Westminster College
Payton Whitehead, Westminster College