SHAWNEE – For the sixth time in the last seven seasons, the Oklahoma Baptist Bison baseball team was slotted in the top three of the Great American Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Entering 2023, OBU was slotted third with a single first-place vote.
A season ago, OBU posted a 27-22 record and advanced to the third day of the GAC Tournament in Hot Springs, Ark.
Southern Arkansas was tabbed the preseason favorite with 10 first-place nods while Henderson State followed in second.
Coming into this new campaign, the green and gold have another talented squad which includes some of the best batters in the GAC and in the country.
OBU's top-five hitters from 2022,
Dan Pruitt,
Kade Self,
Isiah Lissade,
Alex Schroeder and
Jose Parga are all back. That group hit double-digit homers led by Pruitt's 24, the second-best mark in school history. Additionally, those five student-athletes each hit above .322.
On the pitching front,
Brek Galbreath is the leading returner after notching six wins, a staff-high 81 strikeouts and 4.39 earned run average last season. Among other returnees include
Garrett Kellogg-Clarke,
Will Duncan,
Jake Hamilton and
Nolan Feazle. Plus, there are a handful of newcomers that will compete for appearances as the Bison take part in preseason practices over the next few weeks.
The season starts for OBU on Feb. 3 during Central Oklahoma's First Pitch Classic against Emporia State.
2023 GAC Preseason Coaches Baseball Poll
1. Southern Arkansas - 120 (10)
2. Henderson State - 107 (1)
3.
Oklahoma Baptist – 98 (1)
4. Southeastern Oklahoma State - 86
5. Ouachita Baptist - 77
6. Harding - 69
7. Arkansas-Monticello - 68
8. Arkansas Tech - 62
9. Northwestern Oklahoma State - 38
10. Southwestern Oklahoma State - 35
11. East Central - 16
12. Southern Nazarene - 16
