ST. PAUL, Minn. - You might not think so by looking outside, but baseball season is right around the corner. Thursday morning, the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference released its 2026 Preseason Baseball Poll and Preview, and the University of Northwestern was picked by the conference's coaches to finish in fourth place. The Eagles finished in third place last season with a 14-7 UMAC record (18-24 overall). Bethany Lutheran College was the unanimous choice for first place in the poll, and the University of Wisconsin-Superior received the other first-place vote among a tight, 2-4 finish.
The full UMAC preview and poll can be found
here.
Northwestern, now in year three of the
Jesse Eikum era, certainly lost plenty of experience to graduation in the offseason, but brings back some core bats from last season's lineup. Notably, 2024 NCCAA First Team All-Region center fielder
Braden Storts (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) is healthy and ready for his junior year after missing most of last season with an injury. Before the season, the two-way star was batting .352 with a .935 OPS (on-base plus slugging) and seven extra-base hits in just 13 games. For his career, the Minnetonka native is hitting .336 with a .907 OPS, 25 extra-base hits and 30 RBI, in addition to a .986 fielding percentage patrolling center field.
Christian Raya (Moline, Ill./Moline) is back in the fold as well after a breakout 2025 campaign which saw him hit .327 with a .950 OPS, five home runs (including two grand slams) and 31 RBI. In addition to his powerful bat, the junior is one of UNW's top returning arms after posting a 3.78 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 16.2 innings last season. Another strong returner at the plate and in the field is
Alex Klein (Olathe, Kans./Olathe Northwest), who split catching duties as a freshman in 2025. Klein hit .288 with 12 RBI as a rookie, and threw out 11 base-runners from behind the plate.
Ben Hixon (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville),
Caleb Hautajarvi (Barnum, Minn./Barnum Secondary),
Tony Greco (Janesville, Wis./Janesville Craig),
Bryce Campbell (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Armstrong),
Jayden King (Wahpeton, N.D./Wahepton Senior) and
Dreyer Homan (Clara City, Minn./MACCRAY) all saw plenty of time last season as well and return this year.
The Eagles will also welcome in a handful of young talent Eikum expects to make an impact in 2026.
Solomon Kardell (Coon Rapids, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy),
Davis Winter (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) and
Kason Pietruszewski (Warroad, Minn./Warroad) are all two-way players who will split time between the mound and the infield, while
Jack Burns (Plainfield, Ill./Aurora Christian) will join them in the infield as well.
Northwestern is scheduled to begin its season the morning of Friday, March 9th in Vero Beach, Florida against Norwich University.
| Place |
School |
Points |
| 1 |
Bethany Lutheran (6) |
36 |
| 2 |
UW-Superior (1) |
27 |
| 3 |
Minnesota Morris |
25 |
| 4 |
Northwestern |
23 |
| 5 |
Crown |
19 |
| 6 |
North Central |
9 |
| 7 |
Martin Luther |
8 |
