ISU baseball picked to finish 6th in preseason MVC poll

Posted on January 28, 2015

Redshirt junior Paul DeJong has been named a member of the 2015 preseason all-conference team. Illinois State baseball has been picked to finish 6th in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll. (Photo courtesy GoRedbirds.com)

By ISU Sports Information

ST LOUIS – The Illinois State baseball team was predicted to finish sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference, while redshirt junior Paul DeJong earned preseason all-conference team honors, as the league announced its preseason coaches’ poll and all-conference team Wednesday.

Dallas Baptist was predicted to win the MVC title in 2015, as the Patriots garnered seven first-place votes and 62 voter points. Missouri State, which claimed the only other first-place vote, was pegged for a second-place finish, with 53 points. The Bears were followed by: Wichita State (43 points), Indiana State (42), Evansville (28), Illinois State (26), Bradley (18) and Southern Illinois (15).

Dallas Baptist led the league in terms of preseason all-conference selections, with four. DeJong, an All-MVC First-Team Selection a year ago, was Illinois State’s lone representative. DeJong led the Redbirds in hits (76), doubles (21), triples (3), home runs (9), RBIs (48), runs (44), total bases (130) and hit by pitches (9) in 2014. He ranked second in the MVC in hits and total bases, fourth in RBIs, and fifth in home runs.

Evansville claimed the 2014 MVC regular-season title, while Dallas Baptist won the MVC Tournament title following a third-place regular-season finish. The Redbirds finished fifth in the league standings before advancing to the MVC Tournament’s title game for the second year in a row.

The Illinois State baseball team opens the 2015 season on Feb. 13, with a four-game series at Arkansas State.

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