SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Oral Roberts was selected to finish first in the Summit League Preseason Baseball Coaches' poll released Wednesday by League officials. The Golden Eagles won their 22^nd Summit League postseason title in 2024 and will look to capture the program's 21^st regular season title in 2025.

The Golden Eagles earned 22 points and received half of the six first-place votes they were eligible for in the poll voted on by the league's head coaches. Three other teams each received one of the remaining three first-place tallies as the top four spots were only separated by five points.

Defending regular season champion St. Thomas was picked to finish second with 19 points and a first-place vote, while Omaha was one point behind the Tommies in third with 18 points and a first-place nod. The Tommies won the department's first Summit League team title in any sport with a 16-10 conference record in 2024.

North Dakota State hauled in the final first-place vote and finished fourth with 17 points. South Dakota State was selected fifth with eight points, while Northern Colorado, who made the title game in the program's first Summit League Tournament appearance, rounded out the poll with six points.

A season ago, St. Thomas won the regular season title in after posting a .615 winning percentage, which was just ahead of the Mavericks, who took second with a .550 clip and NDSU, who was right behind the Omaha with a .537 winning percentage.

Omaha earned the right to host the 2025 Championship with the Tommies continuing their transition to the Division I level. The 2024 campaign was the program's third of a five-year transition from the Division III level.

The 2025 Summit League slate will feature eight three-game series. Each team will play the remaining five teams once and three of those opponents twice to make up a 24-game regular season. League play starts the weekend of March 14-16 with all six teams in action against each other.

The top four teams in the regular-season standings will qualify for The Summit League Baseball Championship scheduled for Tal Anderson Field in Omaha, Neb., May 21-24.
 

 
2025 Summit League Players and Pitchers to Watch
Jake Schaffner | North Dakota State | So. | IF
- Appeared in 48 games and made 47 starts as a freshman en route to earning All-Summit League first team honors
- Registered a team-best .337 batting average and .436 on-base percentage
- Led team with 64 hits, including nine doubles, two triples and a home run while

Nolan Johnson | North Dakota State | RJr. | LHP
- Appeared in six games, making five starts as a sophomore
- Went 2-0 with a team-best 2.73 ERA over 26.1 innings before an injury sidelined him for the season in late March
- Earned back-to-back wins after seven-inning outings at Southeastern Louisiana and Omaha

Kai Wagner | Northern Colorado | RSo. | IF
- Earned All-Summit League honorable mention honors and a spot on the Summit League All-Tournament Team
- Led all Summit hitters with a .389 average in 22 league starts, adding six home runs and 26 RBI
- Finished campaign with 19 multiple-hit games, including two in Summit League Tournament action

Jake Storey | Northern Colorado | Jr. | RHP
- Earned a spot on the Summit League All-Tournament Team after tossing a season-high 7.2 innings and earning a win over Omaha in the opening round
- Went 1-1 with a 4.28 ERA in seven Summit appearances, including four starts
- Struck out 44 batters in 50.1 innings of work, including 27 in Summit action

Cardel Dick | Omaha | So. | C
- Earned 26 starts in Summit play, batting .240 as a freshman with four doubles, a triple and two home runs
- Ranked second on team with 24 RBI in league play and 32 RBI overall
- Finished first collegiate season with seven multiple-hit games

Brayden Curtis | Omaha | Jr. | RHP 
- Made 12 appearances and five starts in his first season as a Maverick
- Tossed four shutout innings in his first Summit appearance vs. NDSU
- Averaged better than a strikeout per inning, fanning 28 in 26.1 innings of work

Makani Tanaka | Oral Roberts | Jr. | OF
- Spent first two collegiate seasons at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif.
- Batted .365 in 51 games as a sophomore in 2024, homering five times, driving in 52 and stealing 18 bases
- Played in 40 games as a freshman, batting .252 with a home run, 19 RBI and six stolen bases

Weston Rouse | Oral Roberts | RFr. | LHP
- Oklahoma State transfer that did not see any game action for the Cowboys in 2024
- Capped prep career in 2023 with a 9-0 record, 0.38 ERA and 126 strikeouts in 54.2 innings of work at Fort Gibson High School (Okla.)
- In three-year varsity career, posted a 25-0 record and struck out 312 batters

Brigs Richartz | St. Thomas | Jr. | OF
- Named to the All-Summit League first team in 2024
- Led Tommies with 63 hits, 13 doubles and finished campaign with a .337 batting average
- Posted 18 multiple-hit games and eight multiple-RBI games

Evan Esch | St. Thomas | Sr. | LHP
- Named to the All-Summit League second team in 2024
- Struck out 35 batters in 32.1 innings of work in Summit play, posting a 4-1 record in six starts
- Owned a 5-2 record overall, tying for third among Summit hurlers in victories

Carter Sintek | South Dakota State | So. | IF
- Started 23 games at shortstop before medical reasons sidelined him for the remainder of 2024 season in late March
- Posted eight multiple-hit games and added three multiple-RBI games in first collegiate season
- Put together an eight-game hitting streak from Feb. 19-Mar. 2

Dylan Driessen | South Dakota State | Jr. | RHP
- Punched out 62 batters in 43.0 innings of work as a sophomore, including 44 in 28.1 innings of Summit action
- 12.98 strikeouts per nine innings a season ago was sixth-highest ratio in SDSU history
- Fanned a career-high nine in earning a win in relief in last outing of season vs. Omaha
 
Note: Players to Watch selected by league's head coaches

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