2016 NSIC Preseason Baseball Release (Jan. 20, 2016)

The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced Wednesday its 2015 Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll and with that, the 2015 NSIC Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year. The University of Minnesota Duluth ranked fourth of 15 teams while senior first baseman Alex Wojciechowski was named the Preseason Player of the Year.

UMD (R.V.), which finished the 2015 season with a program-best 35 wins including a 26-10 mark in conference play, ranks behind preseason favorite No. 6 St. Cloud State University, No. 5 Minnesota State University Mankato, and Augustana (S.D.) University (R.V.) in the vote by league coaches. St. Cloud State (10) and Minnesota State (5) took home all of the first-place votes, and three total points separated them (190-187). The Bulldogs collected 156 points, nine points behind Augustana and 22 ahead of fifth-place Winona State University. The preseason coaches' poll is based off each coach ranking each team from 14 to 1 with the top team receiving 14 points, second 13, third 12, etc.

UMD's Wojciechowski earned Preseason NSIC Player of the Year selection for the second time in his career (2014). He earned his second career All-NSIC First Team selection in 2015, after being named the league's Player and Freshman of the Year following his first collegiate campaign in 2013. In 2015, Wojo set UMD's single season record with 137 total bases and earned All-America citation by Daktronics/D2SIDA for the second time in his career. The career .386/.462/.364 hitter has earned All-Central Region honors from ABCA, the NCBWA, and Daktronics. He has 20 career home runs, 44 doubles, 122 runs batted in, and 125 runs scored.

St. Cloud State senior right-hander Reese Gregory was named the 2016 Preseason Pitcher of the Year after earning the same title following the 2015 campaign. UMD senior left-hander Bo Hellquist was named a player-to-watch in the league after earning an NSIC All-Tournament Team selection last Spring. He has a no-hitter to his name, striking out seven in 7.0 innings against Minnesota State on April 3 last season at Wade Stadium and finished the 2015 campaign with a 2.98 ERA and .219 batting average allowed in 54.1 innings. While named for his pitching, he also posted a .273/.398/.439 batting line with two home runs, three doubles, and a career-high 13 runs batted in a season ago.

Wojciechowski, Hellquist, and the Bulldogs are just under a month away from beginning the regular season with a four-game series at Pittsburg State  University. The season opener is set for 3:00 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 19 in Pittsburg, Kansas. The 2016 NSIC Baseball Tournament will take the top eight teams in the final NSIC Standings. The double elimination tournament takes place May 11-15 in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
 

2015 NSIC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll
Institution	Points
1. No. 6 St. Cloud State (10)	190
2. No. 5 Minnesota State (5)	187
3. [RV] Augustana (S.D.)	165
4. [RV] UMD	156
5. Winona State	134
6. Wayne State (Neb.)	126
7. Concordia-St. Paul	122
8. Northern State	114
9. Southwest Minnesota State	79
10. Bemidji State	77
11. Sioux Falls	71
12. Upper Iowa	59
13. Minot State	44
14. Minnesota Crookston	34
15. U-Mary	17

(#) - First Place Votes

Rankings reflect the Collegiate Baseball News 2016 NCAA II Preseason Poll, released Dec. 22, 2015. The poll is archived here.