FREELAND, Mich. – In a preseason poll of eight Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association baseball coaches, the Adrian baseball team was voted as the team to beat in the 2017 MIAA season.

Adrian, the defending MIAA regular season champions, received seven first-place votes for seven points. Kalamazoo, the winners of the 2016 MIAA tournament, garnered one first-place vote and ranked second overall with 17 points. Hope (22 points) edged both Alma (25) and Trine (29) for third place. Calvin was predicted for a sixth-place finish with 34 points, while Albion (41) and Olivet (49) rounded out the preseason poll.

The preseason poll for MIAA baseball awards one point for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote, et cetera; coaches were not allowed to vote for their own programs.

Adrian (30-12 in 2016, 24-4 MIAA) was a preseason top 25 selection by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper heading into the 2017 campaign and will be led by returning standouts and 2016 first-team All-MIAA selections Tommy Parsons (Jr., P, New Albany, Ohio), Ryan Dorow (Sr., SS, South Haven, Mich.), and Ian Mikowski (Sr., OF, Grand Rapids, Mich.).

Kalamazoo (24-20-1, 17-11) advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2016 after winning the MIAA tournament title. The Hornets return first-team All-MIAA honorees Ryan Orr (Jr., 2B/RHP, DeWitt, Mich.) and Jack Clark (Sr., 3B, Ann Arbor, Mich.).

Hope (25-19, 17-11) challenged Kalamazoo in the MIAA title game last spring, and the Flying Dutchmen will attempt to repeat their championship game appearance in 2017. Second-team All-MIAA pick Landon Brower (Jr., 1B, Holland, Mich.) returns this spring.

Alma (28-15, 18-10) finished second in the 2016 MIAA season and will feature first-team All-MIAA selection Alex Valasek (Sr., RHP, Saginaw, Mich.) this spring.

The 2017 season gets underway for MIAA teams on Feb. 26, when Alma and Adrian take the field to open their seasons. The 2017 MIAA Tournament will be held May 10-12 at the campus site of the top seed in the conference standings, with the top four teams advancing from regular season play.