ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has announced the Preseason Coaches' Poll for the upcoming baseball season. The Gorloks are picked to win the conference for the 17^th straight season after receiving 79 points in the poll and seven first place votes.

The Gorloks will return 21 players from last years team that went 33-16 on the season and 18-3 in conference play. They won their 16^th straight SLIAC Regular Season Title and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The Gorloks won three games in the regional but were eventually defeated by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the regional final.

Of the 21 returners, five earned All-SLIAC honors last season including Evan Evola, Joel Arsenault, R.J. LaRocco, Nathaniel Martinez, and Jordan Smevoll. Evola, the 2022 SLIAC Player of the Year, was named First Team All-SLIAC and All-Region VIII last season after he hit .364 with 12 homeruns and 44 RBI. Arsenault was named Second Team All-SLIAC as a pitcher last year after posting a 6-1 overall record with a 2.81 ERA and 43 strikeouts. LaRocco and Martinez were also named Second Team All-SLIAC last season as LaRocco hit .314 with 13 doubles while Martinez hit .305 with a team high 51 RBI. Smevoll was named Third Team All-SLIAC after going 3-2 with 52 strikeouts in 62.1 innings pitched. All five Gorloks were named to the SLIAC Preseason Watch List.

In addition to the five returners that earned All-SLIAC honors last season, the Gorloks also return Zach Goodman, Caleb Zbrozek, J.T. Miller, Carter Hunt, and Adam Hill who all made significant contributions to last years team. Goodman made 30 appearances behind the plate for the Gorloks last season and finished the year with a .239 batting average and 15 RBI. Zbrozek recorded 16 strikeouts in 16.2 innings pitched while posting a .214 batting average in 14 plate appearances. Miller, Hunt, and Hill combined for 68 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched.

In addition to the returners, the Gorloks also welcome 24 newcomers including 14 freshman, nine juniors, and one graduate student.

The Gorloks beat out Spalding (Ky.) University in the poll by four points as the Golden Eagles finished second in the poll with 75 points and three first place votes. Fontbonne (Mo.) University was picked to finish third with 63 points in the poll.

The Gorloks will open their season on Saturday, February 17^th when they travel to Millington, Tennessee, to take on the Transylvania (Ky.) University Pioneers for a nonconference doubleheader. The first game is set to start at 10 a.m. with the second game to follow.