SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Reigning co-regular season champion 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 21st regular season title in 2025, sharing that distinction with St. Thomas.

The Tommies' regular season share was their second straight after capturing the program's first with an outright title 2024.

The Golden Eagles earned 24 points and received four first-place votes in the poll voted on by the league's head coaches.  ORU returns eight starters from a season ago along with all-league first team pitchers Easton Teel and Nathan Love. Teel was named Summit League Pitcher of the Year following a stellar freshman campaign.

Omaha received the remaining two first-place votes and finished in a tie for second in the poll with St. Thomas as both received 19 points. The Mavericks return a trio of all-league first team selections, including 2025 Player of the Year Henry Zipay. The Tommies boast a veteran infield that returns all four starters, including all-league first team selection Matthew Maulik.

South Dakota State was pegged to finish fourth, edging out defending tournament champion North Dakota State by a point. The Bison were picked fifth and followed by Northern Colorado, who rounded out the six-team poll.

St. Thomas earned the right to host the 2026 Championship after holding the head-to-head tiebreaker with fellow co-champion Oral Roberts. The Tommies, who took four of six from the Golden Eagles, including both regular season series, will host the event on the University of Minnesota campus.

The 2026 Summit League slate will feature 10 three-game series. Each team will play the remaining five teams in home-and-home series to make up a 30-game regular season that concludes on May 16. League play starts the weekend of March 13-15 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 Siebert Field in Minneapolis, Minn., May 20-23.

2026 Summit League Baseball Preseason Poll
Place	Team	Points (1st)	2025 Record
1.	Oral Roberts	24 (4)	37-22 (21-9)
2.	Omaha	19 (2)	20-30 (12-16)
	St. Thomas	19	29-21 (21-9)
4.	South Dakota State	12	16-36 (12-18)
5.	North Dakota State	11	21-34 (13-15)
6.	Northern Colorado	6	18-33 (9-21)

 
2026 Summit League Players and Pitchers to Watch
Dante Smith | North Dakota State | So. | OF
- 2025 All-Summit League Second Team selection
- Batted .375 in Summit play, scoring 17 runs to go with 11 RBI in 22 contests
- Led all Summit players with 11 sacrifice bunts and also registered 16 multi-hit games

Parker Puetz | North Dakota State | RJr. | RHP
- Appeared in just six games over the past two seasons due to injury
- Racked up 60 strikeouts in 60 career innings, including 11 in 9.2 innings of work in 2025
- 2023 All-Summit League Second Team selection as a freshman after leading all pitchers with a 2.51 ERA

Jake Bullard | Northern Colorado | Gr. | IF
- Batted .289 with three home runs and 23 RBI in first season with the Bears in 2025
- Posted 10 multi-hit games, including five three-hit ones
- Transfer from Stetson, earned A-Sun All-Freshman Team honors in 2022 for the Hatters

Jake Storey | Northern Colorado | Sr. | RHP
- Made 27 career starts for the Bears, earning six wins during that span
- Struck out 117 career batters, including a career-high 45 in 2025
- 2024 Summit League All-Tournament Team honoree

Henry Zipay | Omaha | Gr. | IF
- 2025 Summit League Player of the Year and All-League First Team honoree
- Led all Summit players with a .384 overall batting average and .415 clip in league action
- Posted a .500 on-base percentage in 26 Summit games
 
Maddox Meyer | Omaha | So. | RHP 
- Made 18 appearances, including eight starts during freshman season in 2025
- Finished rookie campaign with 31 strikeouts in 39.1 innings
- Struck out a season-high five in 3.1 innings of scoreless work against No. 2 LSU

Will Edmundson | Oral Roberts | Sr. | OF
- 2025 All-Summit League First Team honoree
- Arkansas transfer batted .336 with six home runs and 24 RBI in first season of Summit play
- Ranked second among Summit players with 80 total hits, which included 19 extra-base hits

Easton Teel | Oral Roberts | So. | RHP
- 2025 All-Summit League First Team honoree
- Led all Summit players in ERA in overall (2.98) and Summit games (2.95)
- Went 7-2 overall on the mound, including 6-2 in league play, holding opponents to a .240 batting average

Joe Roder | St. Thomas | Sr. | 1B
- Named All-Summit League honorable mention in 2025
- Led all Summit players with 11 doubles and 35 RBI against league competition
- Made 113 career starts for the Tommies, boasting a .306 batting average with 12 homers and 95 RBI

Max Skilbeck | St. Thomas | Sr. | RHP
- All 17 appearances came in relief, fanning 36 in 25.1 innings of work
- Tallied five of team-high six saves in Summit action
- Owns a 4.65 career ERA in 46 appearances for the Tommies

Luke Luskey | South Dakota State | Jr. | IF
- 2025 All-Summit League Second Team selection
- Led all Summit League players with 14 home runs despite missing final 10 games of the season
- Finished second in Summit play with eight home runs in 20 starts, while adding 25 RBI

Ty Madison | South Dakota State | Jr. | RHP
- Went 2-2 with 26 strikeouts in a team-high 22 appearances during first season with the Jackrabbits
- Earned first career Division I win with three innings of scoreless relief vs. NDSU (April 27)
- Allowed just two earned runs over final eight appearances (1.86 ERA) – all in relief

Note: Players to Watch selected by league's head coaches