Arkansas Tech University landed in the No. 5 slot in the 2016 Great American Conference baseball preseason poll.
The poll, which was released by the league office on Tuesday, Jan. 12, lists Southern Arkansas University as the preseason favorite to win the 2016 GAC baseball championship. The Muleriders received a total of 118 points and eight first-place votes in the balloting. They were regular season and postseason champions of the GAC in 2015.
Henderson State University, defending NCAA Division II Central Region champion, is No. 2 in the GAC preseason poll. The Reddies collected 110 points and three first-place votes.
Harding University (3rd, 92 points), Ouachita Baptist University (4th, 88 points) and Arkansas Tech (5th, 87 points) are also considered by league head coaches as strong contenders to earn a berth in the GAC Baseball Tournament, which begins May 6-7. The top eight teams in the final league standings will qualify for the event.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University (6th, 61 points), the University of Arkansas-Monticello (7th, 55 points), Southwestern Oklahoma State University (8th, 53 points), Oklahoma Baptist University (9th, 43 points), East Central University (T-10th, 37 points), Northwestern Oklahoma State University (T-10th, 37 points) and Southern Nazarene University (12th, 17 points) complete the poll.
The Wonder Boys will begin their 2016 season by visiting St. Mary’s University for a three-game series in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 29-31.
Dave Dawson will be in his seventh season as Arkansas Tech head baseball coach in 2016. Dawson’s 199 victories are third-most by a baseball coach in school history, trailing only Dale Harpenau (302 wins from 1988-98) and Billy Goss (265 wins from 1999-2009).
The Wonder Boys were 30-21 overall and made their sixth consecutive conference tournament appearance in 2015.
View Arkansas Tech’s complete 2016 baseball schedule.
