TUCSON, Ariz. – With the start of preseason practice for baseball a little more than a month away, Webster University opens the 2020 season ranked No. 2 in the Preseason NCAA Division III ABCA/Collegiate Baseball poll that was released on Tuesday afternoon.

Webster, who finished last season ranked sixth in the final ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Poll after posting a 37-13 overall record and advancing to the NCAA Division III World Series for the fourth time in the last eight years, earned 282 points in the preseason poll to sit four points behind No. 1 ranked and reigning Division III National Champion Chapman, who earned 286 points in the poll.

The No. 2 preseason ranking is the highest for the Gorloks in school history and it marks the second consecutive season and sixth time in the last eight years that Webster has been ranked in the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball preseason poll. Prior to this year's No. 2 ranking, Webster's previous highest ranking in the preseason poll was No. 5 in 2016.

Webster, who is the only school from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll, welcomes back seven position starters, five of its top six pitchers and 27 lettermen from last year's 37-13 squad that captured its 13th consecutive SLIAC regular season title, its 10th all-time SLIAC Tournament title and also captured both the Whitewater Regional and Concordia-Chicago Super Regional championships a season ago en route to advancing to the D-III World Series for the fourth time in school history and first time since 2015.

Among the key returners for the Gorloks in 2020 are returning All-Americans – junior third baseman Ben Swords (Freeport, Ill./Freeport) and senior pitcher Matt Mulhearn (Chicago Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic). In addition to the two returning All-Americans from last season, senior first baseman Kyler Kent (Pottsboro, Texas/Pottsboro) returns after being an All-American as a sophomore in 2018, as well as, senior pitcher Shane Donovan (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett), who was also an All-American in 2018.

Swords was named an ABCA Third-Team All-American selection last season after recording a .358 batting average in 2019. On the season, Swords led the Gorloks in at-bats (187), hits (67), runs scored (53), doubles (20), RBI (52) and was tied for the team lead in home runs with seven and was also tied for the team lead in walks with 29. Additionally, Swords was 15-for-18 on stolen bases and led the Gorloks in multi-hit games (20) and multiple RBI games (13) and tied a single game school record with five runs scored in Webster's NCAA Super Regional clinching win against Concordia-Chicago. He finished last season ranked 12th nationally in Division III in doubles and was 27th nationally in both runs scored and RBI.  

Mulhearn was named a Third-Team ABCA All-American and an Honorable Mention D3Baseball.com All-American last season after posting a 12-2 record and a 2.13 ERA. He led the Gorloks in wins (12), starts (15), complete games (5), ERA (2.13), innings pitched (105.2) and strikeouts (102) and was second in appearances with 19 and was one of just three pitchers in school history to record 100 or more strikeouts in a season. Mulhearn, who was named MVP of the NCAA Whitewater Regional, finished the 2019 season second nationally in wins with 12 and was also fifth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.27) and ninth nationally in strikeouts (102). Mulhearn's 12 wins and 105.2 innings pitched were both single season school records, while is 15 starts were tied for the most in a single season.

The other returning position starters besides Swords and Kent for the Gorloks this season include junior shortstop Matt Staker (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine), senior catcher Joe Swanson (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine West), senior centerfielder Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College), senior rightfielder A.J. Smith (DuQuoin, Ill./DuQuoin) and junior leftfielder Adam Lovell (Lafayette, Ind./Saint Joseph's College). While the top returning pitchers along with Mulhearn and Donovan are junior Sean Beaver (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch), sophomore Brendan May (St. Louis, Mo./ Vianney) and senior pitcher Dakota Borman (Freeport, Ill./Highland CC).

Behind Chapman and Webster in the preseason poll, Heidelberg (35-15) is ranked No. 3, while Trinity (Texas) (35-12) is ranked fourth and Kean (31-16) is ranked sixth, while defending national runner-up Birmingham-Southern (42-15) is ranked 10th in the preseason poll.

Webster is scheduled to play five games this upcoming season against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the Preseason ABCA/Collegiate Baseball poll and the Gorloks could also face several other preseason ranked teams during its Spring Break trip in early March to the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational in Auburndale, Fla. Among the teams preseason ranked Webster is schedule to face include No. 7 WashU, No. 11 Coe, No. 31 Concordia-Chicago (two games) and Benedictine (Ill.), who was one of 20 teams that earned votes in the preseason ABCA/Collegiate Baseball poll.

The Gorloks, who begin preseason practice on January 27, will open the 2020 season in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, Feb. 21 against Transylvania University at 10:30 a.m., while Webster's first home game of the 2020 season at GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 28 against preseason 31st-ranked Concordia-Chicago at 2 p.m.