GRINNELL, IOWA – The Midwest Conference released the 2023 Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll on Friday morning, with Ripon picked to finish in a tie for third. Grinnell and Ripon tied for third place with 44 points apiece, with the Pioneers earning a pair of-first place votes.

The Red Hawks finished the 2022 season 13-11 in the conference and 20-23 overall.
 
Ripon claimed three of the league's top four hit leaders in 2022, including two-sport standout Cormac Madigan, who finished his Red Hawk football career as the Wisconsin Private College Player of the Year last fall. Madigan finished the 2022 campaign second on the team with a .349 batting average and 48 runs scored. On the mound, Ripon returns the top two Red Hawks in appearances as well as team strikeout leader Brock Warren. He was the team's leader in strikeouts with 51 over the course of 58.1 innings.

Ripon starts its season on the road at North Central College's Saluki Tournament on Saturday, Feb 18 when the Red Hawks face Dubuque (2 p.m.) and North Central (5 p.m.) and then finish up on Sunday against DePauw at 1 p.m.
 
The conference season is set to begin on March 25, with eight programs kicking off the MWC portion of the schedule. The league's top seed will host the MWC Tournament, which is slated for May 12-13.

MWC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Lawrence University (6 first-place votes, 61 points)
2. University of Chicago (1 first-place vote, 55 points)
T3.  Grinnell College (2 first-place votes, 44 points)
T3. Ripon College (44 points)
5. Illinois College (32 points)
T6.  Beloit College (28 points)
T6.  Cornell College (28 points)
8. Monmouth College (23 points)
9. Knox College (9 points)