NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Four-time defending College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) champion North Central was predicted to win the 2018 conference baseball title according to the results of the CCIW's annual preseason coaches' poll announced Wednesday.
The Cardinals won the poll with 60 points and five first place votes after capturing their 14th CCIW regular season title last season. North Central earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA postseason with its ninth CCIW Tournament title in program history in 2018, which was also the Cardinals' second-straight. The Ed Mathey-led program advanced all the way to the national semifinals in 2017.
Carthage placed second in the poll with 56 points and two first place votes. The Red Men finished second last season and qualified for the CCIW Tournament for the third time in the last four years.
Augustana was third with 47 points and one first place vote as the Vikings tied for third in the CCIW standings and advanced to their third-straight CCIW Tournament in 2018.
Illinois Wesleyan placed fourth with 43 points, while North Park was fifth with 35 points. Wheaton placed sixth with 30 points and one first place vote.
Millikin (26 points), Elmhurst (17 points) and Carroll (10 points) rounded out the poll.
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.
2019 CCIW Preseason Baseball Poll
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
North Central |
60 (5) |
| 2 |
Carthage |
56 (2) |
| 3 |
Augustana |
47 (1) |
| 4 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
43 |
| 5 |
North Park |
35 |
| 6 |
Wheaton |
30 (1) |
| 7 |
Millikin |
26 |
| 8 |
Elmhurst |
17 |
| 9 |
Carroll |
10 |
2018 CCIW Baseball Standings
| Institution |
CCIW |
Overall |
| North Central |
20-4 |
29-14 |
| Carthage |
17-7 |
31-12 |
| Augustana |
13-11 |
25-16 |
| North Park |
13-11 |
20-23 |
| Elmhurst |
12-12 |
22-17 |
| Illinois Wesleyan |
11-13 |
22-17 |
| Carroll |
9-15 |
22-18 |
| Millikin |
7-17 |
18-22 |
| Wheaton |
6-18 |
15-24 |
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 2017-18 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,100 academic all-conference recipients, 15 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 28 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.