RUSSELLVILLE – The Great American Conference released its annual preseason coaches poll for baseball on Thursday, and in that release, the Arkansas Tech baseball team was picked to finish the 2024 regular season in second place.
Topping the poll was Southern Arkansas as SAU received 10 of the 12 first-place votes and totaled 120 points. In being picked second, the Wonder Boys totaled 100 points and received one first-place vote. Narrowly behind Tech in the rankings was Ouachita Baptist. The Tigers garnered the remaining first-place vote and had 98 total points.
Oklahoma Baptist was picked fourth with 92 points followed by Henderson State at fifth with 86 points. Arkansas-Monticello and Harding were closely connected at sixth and seven, respectively as UAM had 70 points and Harding 68.
Three of the four directional schools from Oklahoma comprised slots 8 – 10. Southeastern landed in eighth with 49 points, Southwestern was ninth with 42 while Northwestern was 10th with 35 points. The remaining two Oklahoma schools rounded out the rankings with Southern Nazarene being 11th and East Central 12th.
Last season, the Wonder Boys finished the season 32-22 overall, were 23-10 in the GAC and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament as the No. 7-seed.
A significant of contributors to last year's success are back for the Wonder Boys as they have seven players back from their everyday lineup as well as 10 arms that made double-digit appearances on the mound.
Highlighted among those returners are First-Team All-GAC honorees John Gray, Mason Griffin and Keaton Ranallo; Second-Team outfielder Sawyer Duddleston plus Honorable Mention performers Brandon Bunton and Nick Jones.
The Wonder Boys are once more slated to open their regular season at the home of the Houston Astros, Minute Maid Park, for the annual Houston Winter Invitational. Tech will play three games the first weekend of February and will face a stout slate of the University of Tampa, St. Cloud State and Southern New Hampshire.
The opening game of their 2024 season will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, February 2 against perennial power Tampa. For the full 2024 ATU baseball schedule, check out https://arkansastechsports.com/sports/baseball/schedule .
