KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Fort Hays State baseball team was picked 10th in the 2022 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, released Friday by the league office.
The Tigers finished in that same spot in the MIAA standings a year ago when FHSU finished 11-26 overall and 11-22 in conference play, including a 9-6 record over the final month of the season.
Fort Hays State returns 25 players from last season, while head coach Jerod Goodale enters his fourth season with 15 new players on the roster. Included in that mix of newcomers is four transfers and 10 freshmen.
Among the returners are a pair of All-MIAA honorees in Jacob Ensz and Grant Schmidt. Ensz was the top arm out of the Tiger bullpen all season, collecting six saves on the year, third-most in the conference and 14th-most in Division II. He struck out 31 batters in 30.1 innings of relief. Schmidt led the Tigers offensively in several statistical categories, including tallies of 11 home runs, 12 doubles, two triples, 43 hits, 37 runs, 29 RBI, 92 total bases, a .676 slugging percentage and a .408 on-base percentage.
Central Missouri, the defending national runner-up, was picked atop the poll with 10 of the 12 first-place votes. Pittsburg State and Northeastern State are second and third, respectively, after each picked up one first-place vote.
The Tigers are scheduled to open the season next Friday (Feb. 4) with a four-game series against Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo. FHSU is first scheduled to play at historic Larks Park on February 18-20 when the Tigers host Regis in another four-game set. Conference play opens February 25 against Washburn in Topeka, with the first home league series beginning March 4 against Emporia State.
2022 MIAA Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Missouri (10) – 120
2. Pittsburg State (1) – 103
3. Northeastern State (1) – 94
4. Central Oklahoma – 92
5. Missouri Southern – 86
6. Washburn – 74
7. Emporia State – 62
8. Rogers State – 56
9. Northwest Missouri – 41
10. Fort Hays State – 30
11. Missouri Western – 18
12. Newman – 16
FHSU Athletics