Press Release

Jan. 7, 2004

Northwest Ranked No. 29 in Preseason Poll

Courtesy of Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The defending NCAA Division II national champion Central Missouri State Mules share the top spot in the recently-released Collegiate Baseball NCAA Division II preseason poll.

The Mules are tied with Tampa (Fla.), the school which they defeated, 11-4, in the 2003 championship game. Central and the Spartans each had 632 points in the survey of Division II coaches.

Central, 51-7 last season overall and 27-2 in the MIAA, will have a new coach at the controls in 2004, as former Fontbonne (Mo.) University and Forest Park (Mo.) Community College mentor Darin Hendrickson takes over for Brad Hill. Hill is now the head coach at Kansas State.

Also in the Top 40 from the MIAA is Northwest Missouri State (35-17, 20-8 MIAA) at No. 29. The Bearcats finished second in the regular season conference standings behind the Mules in 2003.

Emporia State, the runner-up in the MIAA Postseason Tournament, received votes in the poll but was not ranked. The Hornets (25-21, 20-11 MIAA) will be led by former Fort Hays (Kan.) State head coach Bob Fornelli, who replaces the retired Brian Embery.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's
NCAA Division II Preseason Poll

   School Name               '03 Record   Points 1. Central Missouri State       51-7       632    Tampa (Fla.)                 45-18      632 3. North Florida                39-18      598 4. Kennesaw (Ga.) State         40-18      582    Florida Southern             44-13      582 6. Abilene Christian (Texas)    45-20      572 7. Delta (Ga.) State            52-10      534 8. Armstrong Atlantic (Ga.) St. 36-15      530 9. Sonoma (Calif.) State        46-15-1    51810. Missouri-St. Louis           39-15      490    Central Oklahoma             44-13      49012. Fort Hays (Kan.) State       45-15      44613. Slippery Rock (Pa.)          48-13      43614. Colorado State-Pueblo        42-16      41415. Francis Marion (S.C.)        30-20      39216. Alabama-Huntsville           31-23      38817. Georgia College & State      29-22      36818. Western Oregon               40-15      35219. Grand Valley (Mich.) State   41-14-1    34820. Shippensburg (Pa.)           34-21      34421. Southern Arkansas            38-17      33222. Columbus (Ga.) State         33-20      32023. Southeastern Oklahoma State  38-15      30824. California State-Chico       36-18      30225. St. Mary's (Texas)           37-18      22426. Massachusetts-Lowell         32-12      21027. Indianapolis (Ind.)          39-21      20828. Valdosta (Ga.) State         37-18      196  29. Northwest Missouri State     36-17      16230. Franklin Pierce (N.H.)       32-17      15631. Pfeiffer (N.C.)              33-17      15032. Ashland (Ohio)               37-20      14833. Rockhurst (Mo.)              34-18      13634. Augusta (Ga.) State          30-21       9635. Lynn (Fla.)                  35-20       9236. Kutztown (Pa.)               25-15       9037. Wayne (Neb.) State           26-13       7838. Rollins (Fla.)               29-24       6039. North Alabama                35-15       5840. South Carolina-Aiken         30-24       42

Also Receiving Votes: West Virginia State, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Barton (N.C.), Mount Olive (N.C.), California State-Dominguez Hills, Mesa (Colo.) State, Lander (S.C.), Southern Connecticut State, Wisconsin-Parkside, Anderson (S.C.), Saginaw Valley (Mich.) State, Tusculum (Tenn.), Carson-Newman (Tenn.), Nova Southeastern, St. Rose (N.Y.), Concordia (N.Y.), Minn.-Duluth, Emporia State, Augustana (S.D.).

Source: NCAA Division II Poll Committee