RIPON, Wisconsin – With 14 days until opening day, the Ripon baseball program has been selected to finish tied for third in the Midwest Conference race this season as the MWC Preseason Coaches Poll was released on Friday afternoon.
Cornell, who took fourth place in the MWC regular season standings last season, has been picked to win the league in 2025. Lawrence, winner of the Midwest Conference regular season title in 2024, has been picked to finish second in a deep league where over half of the teams received a first-place vote. This season begins a new era of Midwest Conference baseball as the league returns to eight members following the departure of affiliate member University of Chicago.
The full poll is listed below.
Ripon brings back 10 starters from last season's team that missed the MWC Tournament by one game – eight positional/two-way players and two starting pitchers (
Blaine Wahlen and
Mitchell Lukasik). In total, 29 Red Hawks return from last season's team, while head coach
Eric Cruise – just two wins away from 200 in his career – welcomes in 15 newcomers.
Ripon begins its season on Friday (February 28) as the Red Hawks take on North Central (Ill.) at 2 p.m. CT from Greenwood, Indiana as part of a four-game opening weekend slate hosted by Franklin College.
2025 Midwest Conference Preseason Poll
1. Cornell College (2 first-place votes) - 44 points
2. Lawrence University (3) - 36 points
T3. Beloit College (1) - 33 points
T3. Ripon College (1) - 33 points
5. Grinnell College (1) - 32 points
6. Illinois College - 25 points
7. Monmouth College - 14 points
8. Knox College - 7 points
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