CLEVELAND - The Mid-American Conference unveiled its 2024 baseball preseason poll on Tuesday, with Western Michigan picked to finish fourth by the league's head coaches.
Reigning regular season champion Kent State was tabbed as the preseason conference favorite, garnering eight of the 11 first-place votes. Ball State, which won the MAC Tournament last season, picked up the other three first-place votes and finished second in the voting. Central Michigan came in third in the poll, with WMU finishing one point behind the Chippewas to claim fourth.
In addition to selecting a projected order of finish for the season, the league's head coaches also picked tournament champions. Kent State again led the way with eight votes, while Western Michigan garnered a pair of votes to claim the tournament crown, the only other team to pick up multiple tournament champion votes. Ball State collected the remaining vote to win the MAC Tournament, which returns to the neutral site of Mercy Health Stadium in Avon, Ohio, from May 22-26 and is expanding from four teams back to six. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team in either section of the poll.
Western Michigan is coming off of a 2023 campaign which saw it go 18-11 in MAC play and finish fourth in the regular season standings. The Broncos returned to the MAC Tournament, making it seven appearances in the last 11 tournaments for head coach
Billy Gernon's squad. WMU's 2024 team brings back a pair of Second Team All-MAC performers in senior first baseman
Cade Sullivan, who enters the campaign tied for the program's career home record with 28, and redshirt senior right-hander
Brady Miller, who led the team in several pitching categories a season ago and is once again slated to be the Friday night starting pitcher for the Brown and Gold.
The Broncos begin their 2024 season on Friday, Feb. 16, as they open up a four-game series against Michigan at Camelback Ranch Stadium in Phoenix, Ariz. WMU returns to Robert J. Bobb Stadium at Hyames Field to begin MAC play with a three-game set against Toledo from March 15-17.
2024 MAC Baseball Head Coaches Preseason Poll
| 1. Kent State (8) |
98 |
| 2. Ball State (3) |
93 |
| 3. Central Michigan |
68 |
| 4. Western Michigan |
67 |
| 5. Ohio |
61 |
| 6. Toledo |
60 |
| 7. Miami |
59 |
| 8. Bowling Green |
36 |
| 9. Eastern Michigan |
29 |
| 10. Northern Illinois |
22 |
| 11. Akron |
12 |
*First place votes in parentheses
Tournament Champions: Kent State (8),
Western Michigan (2), Ball State (1)
