RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – With the start of the 2016 Great American Conference baseball season less than three weeks away, the league announced Southern Arkansas as the preseason favorite, following a league-wide vote of the conference’s head coaches.
In 2015, the Muleriders won their third GAC regular-season title, their fourth-straight GAC Tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth-straight season. They return four All-GAC performers from last season – First Team selections Landon Simpson and Billy Germaine, Second Team relief pitcher Travis Johnson and Honorable Mention outfielder Trevor Rucker. Simpson led the GAC in wins, strikeouts and innings pitched wile posting the third-best ERA. Germaine led the conference with 66 RBIs and placed second in runs scored and third with 12 home runs.
Henderson State, who advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championships after winning the Central Region Championship, placed second in the poll. The Reddies bring back four All-GAC selections, including All-American reliever Nick Vanthillo. He set the school single-season record with 14 saves and posted a 1.39 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 45.1 innings pitched. Jordan Taylor hit .337 and recorded a 2.56 ERA out of the bullpen. Chris Hunt went 6-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 14 starts and Hunter Mayall hit .366 and ranked second in the GAC with 68 hits. Mayall earned MVP honors of the Central Region Championships and a spot on the National Championships All-Tournament Team by hitting .548 in eight postseason games.
Harding took third in the poll after posting a 17-10 mark in GAC. The Bisons bring back First-Team All-GAC pitcher Andrew Fiddler and First Team catcher Davis Richardson. Fiddler posted a 6-3 record with a 2.78 ERA and five complete games. Richardson hit eight home runs and drove in 37 RBI with a .460 on-base percentage.
Ouachita and Arkansas Tech placed fourth and fifth in the voting, with the two separated by one vote. The Tigers finished second to the Muleriders during the regular season. Kyle Hope takes over as Ouachita’s head coach. He inherits two of the top arms in the GAC in 2015 Pitcher of the Year Connor Eller and 2015 Freshman of the John Franklin Matros. Eller placed second in the GAC in wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched. Matros went 4-4 with a 2.97 ERA and four complete games. Offensively, Ouachita returns Justin Weigle, the First-Team All-GAC shortstop. He posted a .579 slugging percentage with 14 doubles and four triples.
The Wonder Boys must replace 2015 GAC Player of the Year Patrick Castleberry, but return three All-GAC selections. Pitcher Trent Armstrong and shortstop Collin O’Neil earned Second Team recognition while Mark Vaughn hit .297 with a .398 on-base percentage as a freshman.
Southeastern Oklahoma State finished sixth with Arkansas-Monticello in seventh and Southwestern Oklahoma State in eighth. The Savage Storm feature 2015 First-Team All-GAC outfielder Brandon Grimsley and the Bulldogs return First-Team All-GAC pitcher Jon Chidester. Oklahoma Baptist, the GAC’s newest member, garnered ninth place in the poll. The Bison enter the GAC having advanced to the NAIA World Series three times in the last five years.
East Central, Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene rounded out the poll.
The GAC season opens on the final weekend of January with Arkansas Tech and Henderson State, Harding and Southeastern Oklahoma State competing. The GAC Championship changes format for 2016. Eight teams will qualify for tournament with the top four teams hosting best-of-3 series on May 6-7. The four series winners will advance to a double-elimination tournament, set for May 12-14 at a to-be-determined site.
