INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) has announced the results of the 2026 Baseball Coaches Poll. The Malone University baseball team was selected to finish fifth out of six teams in the South Division.
 
Northwood University and Walsh University are atop the preseason polls in the north and south divisions. They received seven first-place votes each. The remaining five first-place votes went to the second-place team in both divisions, Ashland University in the north, and Kentucky Wesleyan College in the south.
 
The Pioneers, led by Head Coach Tom Crank in his 23rd season, are coming off a 17-30 season. Malone went 8-22 in G-MAC action, with six of those wins coming at home inside Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium.
 
Senior Jackson Phelps and sophomore Finn Schmitt are returning pitchers with nine or more starts from one year ago. Phelps was the team leader with a 6-3 record and 57.1 innings pitched. Sophomore Cole Miller returns to the squad as well after making several relief appearances and a few starts as well.
 
The top slugger for the Pioneers is returning junior Jake Barker. He led the team with six homeruns and 28 RBIs. Junior infielder Robert Gumino made 44 starts last season and drew a team-high 21 walks.
 
The 2026 squad will look to upperclassmen to fill the holes of a large graduating class from one year ago. There are a combined 24 student-athletes who are listed as juniors or seniors on the roster, including a senior class of Phelps, Reilly Tyna, Nate Plack, Ayden Hall, Braxton Wheeler, Parker Varney, Nathan Shumaker, Chris Munoz and Vincent Alvarez. 22 freshman and sophomores make up the remainder of the roster for Malone.
 
The season kicks off on Friday, February 20 at West Virginia State University for a four-game series.