HUDSONVILLE, Mich. – In a preseason poll of eight Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) baseball coaches, both Kalamazoo College (four first-place votes) and Adrian College (three first-place votes) were predicted to finish first in the league after recording 44 points each.

Alma College received the final first-place vote and a total of 39 points to round out the top three, followed by Hope College with 31 points and Calvin University with 26 points.  Trine University (17 points) edged Albion College (16 points) by a point to finish sixth in the poll while The University of Olivet was predicted to finish eighth with seven points.

The Hornets won their first regular-season title since 1927 last year with a 17-4 mark in league play (31-11 overall).  The Kalamazoo roster will be headlined by sophomore third baseman Ryar Rinehart who was voted both the 2023 MIAA Position Player of the Year and the 2023 D3baseball.com Rookie of the Year.  Rinehart was also selected to the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division III All-America Fourth Team.  In conference play alone, Rinehart finished as the league leader with 32 runs, 39 hits, three triples, seven home runs, 50 runs batted in, 75 total bases, six sacrifice flies, a batting average of .481, and a slugging percentage of .926.  Ribehart will be joined by the following 2023 All-MIAA honorees:  senior pitcher Braden Mussat, fifth-year senior catcher Harrison Poeszat, junior second baseman David Stechow, and junior outfielder Tanner Hawkins.

Adrian won the 2023 MIAA Baseball Tournament last season as the third seed.  The Bulldogs closed out the season with a 13-8 mark in league play and an overall record of 27-21.  Those returning from the 2023 All-MIAA First Team are junior pitcher Daniel Gutierrez and sophomore first baseman Teddy Wagner.  Gutierrez finished in the conference's top five with 35.0 innings pitched, 39 strikeouts, 10.03 strikeouts per contest, a batting-average against of .165, and an ERA of 1.80.  Wagner concluded the season in the top five with 28 RBIs, 14 walks, four sacrifice flies, a batting average of .432, and an on-base percentage of .521.  Sophomore infielder Jakob Charles will also return for the Bulldogs after earning Second Team All-MIAA last year.

Alma wrapped up 2023 with a league record of 15-6 and an overall record of 22-21-1.  The Scots roster will feature 2023 MIAA Pitcher of the Year, Tyler Johnson.  Johnson, who is now a junior, finished top of the conference with six games started, three complete games, 43.0 innings pitched, 47 strikeouts, 153 at-bats against, and an earned-run average of 0.42.  He will be joined by 2023 First Team All-MIAA infielder Avery Carnicom in his fifth year, along with 2023 Second Team All-MIAA junior infielder Kyler Warren.

The Flying Dutchmen ended the 2023 campaign with a 12-9 mark in conference competition and a 20-20 split overall.  Hope will look to 2023 First Team All-MIAA second baseman Nolan Gardner throughout the season.  Gardner, a graduate student at Hope, totaled nine bases and 32 put outs in 2023.  Earlier this year, head coach Stu Fritz announced that he will be retiring following the 2024 season.  Under the leadership of Fritz over the last 31 seasons, Hope has won 652 games, earned 10 MIAA championships and made four NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.

Calvin concluded 2023 with a league record of 10-11 and an overall record of 19-20.  Both sophomore infielder Patrick Gillen and senior infielder/outfielder Nate Mason will return for the Knights after receiving a nod to the All-MIAA First Team last year.  Gillen finished second in the conference in numerous categories:  at bats (92), hits (37), doubles (12), home runs (5), RBIs (33), total bases (68), and slugging percentage (.739).  Mason led the MIAA with 93 at bats and 13 doubles, while also contributing 36 hits.

In losing their 2023 Second Team All-MIAA selection, the Thunder (6-15 MIAA, 15-24 overall) will look to 2022 All-MIAA pitcher Josh Hoogewerf to lead the squad.  Albion (9-12 MIAA, 12-27 overall) returns 2023 Second Team All-MIAA honorees Brayden Raether (junior pitcher), Matt McGann (senior catcher), and Carson Dunn (junior outfielder) this year.  Olivet's (2-19 MIAA, 4-31 overall) roster will feature five seniors this season.

MIAA competition is slated to begin on Friday, March 29, with Trine hosting Hope, Albion hosting Kalamazoo, Calvin hosting Olivet, and Adrian hosting Alma, all at 4:00 p.m.

The 2024 MIAA Baseball Tournament will be held May 8-10.  The winner will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship which begins with the regionals May 17-19.

Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams.