NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Three-time defending champion North Central was predicted to win its fourth-straight College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) baseball title according to the conference’s annual preseason coaches’ poll announced Wednesday.
The Cardinals (31-18, 16-8) won the poll with 58 points and six first place votes as they claimed their 13th CCIW title in program history last season. North Central, led by head coach Ed Mathey, won the outright title in 2017 with victories in its last six regular season games, followed by a CCIW Tournament title. After achieving a 4-0 record during the NCAA’s regional round, the Cardinals advanced all the way to the semifinals of the national tournament, which was their farthest advancement in program history. It was the program’s first appearance in the championship round since 1987.
Wheaton (24-18, 14-10) finished second in the poll with 54 points and two first place votes after the Thunder finished tied for second and advanced to the CCIW Tournament last season.
Illinois Wesleyan (21-20, 13-11) was third with 52 points. Currently, the Titans hold the longest streak for consecutive years qualifying for the CCIW Baseball Tournament at 14, dating back to 2004.
Augustana (30-14, 14-10) placed fourth with 46 points and one first place vote as the Vikings tied with Wheaton for second place last season. Augustana shared the regular season title with North Central in 2016.
Carthage (20-18, 12-12) finished fifth with 36 points, while Millikin was sixth with 30 points. Elmhurst (21-18, 13-11), North Park (15-25, 8-16) and Carroll (13-27, 7-17) rounded out the poll with 18, 17 and 13 points, respectively.
Voting is done by the CCIW's head baseball coaches. Each coach votes for the eight other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (eight points for first, seven for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
| 2018 Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
North Central |
58 (6) |
| 2 |
Wheaton |
54 (2) |
| 3 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
52 |
| 4 |
Augustana |
46 (1) |
| 5 |
Carthage |
36 |
| 6 |
Millikin |
30 |
| 7 |
Elmhurst |
18 |
| 8 |
North Park |
17 |
| 9 |
Carroll |
13 |
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2016-17 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,900 academic all-conference recipients, 10 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 33 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, one CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year and over 100 all-Americans.