2024 RSC Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll: No. 20 Point Park (Pa.) predicted on top
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- Point Park (Pa.) University is this year's favorite in the 2024 River States Conference Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll. The Pioneers won the RSC Championship last year and advanced to the finals of the NAIA National Championship Opening Round.
Point Park garnered eight first-place votes and 118 total votes to lead the polling of the league's 12 head coaches. Point Park had a record of 39-15 overall and was in a three-way tie for first-place in the RSC regular-season standings at 20-7 RSC last year. Point Park is ranked No. 20 in the NAIA Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll for 2024.
IU Southeast placed second in the poll after earning 106 total votes and one first-place vote. The Grenadiers were 32-20 last year, also finished in the first-place tie at 20-7 RSC and reached the RSC Championship finals versus Point Park.
Midway (Ky.) University came in third in the poll with 101 total votes and the remaining two first-place votes. The Eagles were 28-24 overall, 20-7 RSC last year as the No. 1 playoff seed, RSC regular-season champion and an NAIA national tournament qualifier. The Eagles garnered NAIA Top 25 recognition this preseason coming in "receiving votes" in the national ratings.
IU Kokomo was picked fourth in the poll after a record of 26-21, 17-10 RSC. University of Rio Grande (Ohio) was next in fifth after getting to the final three teams of the RSC Championship at 26-28 last year.
Oakland City (Ind.) University, WVU Tech and Ohio Christian University were next in sixth, seventh and eighth followed by RSC newcomer Shawnee State (Ohio) University in ninth. Brescia (Ky.) University, IUPUC and Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College rounded out the 12 teams predicted.
RSC Baseball will be made up of RSC East & West Divisions this year. The RSC East includes Alice Lloyd, Ohio Christian, Point Park, Rio Grande, Shawnee State and WVU Tech. The RSC West features Brescia, Midway, IU Southeast, IU Kokomo, IUPUC and Oakland City.
With 12 teams in the conference, there are two automatic bids to the NAIA national tournament coming out of the conference. Those two bids will both be decided in the RSC Championship postseason tournament with the qualifications going to the champion and the runner-up.
2024 RSC BASEBALL COACHES' PRESESAON POLL (NOV. 1, 2023)
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School |
Points |
| 1. Point Park (Pa.) (8) |
118 |
| 2. IU Southeast (1) |
106 |
| 3. Midway (Ky.) (2) |
101 |
| 4. IU Kokomo |
91 |
| 5. Rio Grande (Ohio) |
83 |
| 6. Oakland City (Ind.) |
73 |
| 7. WVU Tech |
56 |
| T-8. Ohio Christian |
46 |
| T-8. Shawnee State |
46 |
| 10. Brescia (Ky.) |
27 |
| 11. IUPUC |
23 |
| 12. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) |
18 |