Wayne State was listed fourth in the 2026 Northern Sun Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll announced Thursday morning by the league office in Burnsville, Minnesota.  The Wildcats received 154 points in voting by league coaches after finishing 30-22 last season and tied for third in the NSIC with a 25-15 league mark.  Senior relief pitcher Braden Cannon was listed as the Wildcat Pitcher to Watch this season while junior outfielder Max Heard was tabbed as the Wildcat Player to Watch.
            Defending NSIC regular season and tournament champion Minnesota State edged Augustana as the team to beat in NSIC baseball this season.  MSU collected 190 points and eight first-place votes with the Vikings right behind in second at 189 points and seven first-place votes.  St. Cloud State was third at 163 points followed by Wayne State and Sioux Falls (144 pts) in the top five.
            Minnesota Duluth was sixth at 116 points followed closely by UMary (115) and Minnesota Crookston (112) with Southwest Minnesota State (90) and Winona State (89) closing out the top 10 teams.  Concordia-St. Paul was 11^th with 76 points with Jamestown (48), Minot State (44), Northern State (29) and Bemidji State (16) rounding out the poll.
            Cannon, a 6-1, 190-pound senior from Omaha (Millard South HS), earned All-NSIC First Team and NCBWA All-Central Region Second Team honors last season after matching his own single-season school record with an NSIC best 10 saves.  He was 2-1 in 17 games with a team-low 2.61 ERA, striking out 20 batters in 20.2 innings of work allowing just 18 hits and six earned runs.  In the field he also started 46 games at third base and posted a .297 batting average with five home runs and 32 RBI recording 41 hits with 41 runs scored.  Cannon is the all-time saves leader at Wayne State with 27 entering his senior campaign.
            Heard, a 6-0, 170-pound junior outfielder from Omaha (Millard South HS), produced a .286 batting average last season leading the team in home runs (8), RBI (49) and doubles (20) while scoring 41 runs with 52 hits.  He accounted for 16 multi-hit games and had a team-high 15 games with multiple RBI. 
            Wayne State is scheduled to open the 2026 baseball season on Friday, February 6^th at Hawaii-Hilo at 11 p.m. Central Time.    
           
2026 NSIC Preseason Baseball Coaches' Poll
1.         Minnesota State (8)       190 pts.
2.         Augustana (7)                189 pts.
3.         St. Cloud State              163 pts.
4.         Wayne State                 154 pts.
5.         Sioux Falls                    144 pts.
6.         Minnesota Duluth          116 pts.
7.         University of Mary         115 pts.
8.         Minnesota Crookston    112 pts.
9.         Southwest Minn. State   90  pts.
10.        Winona State                89  pts.
11.        Concordia-St. Paul         76  pts.
12.        Jamestown                   48  pts.
13.        Minot State                     44  pts.
14.        Northern State              29  pts.
15.        Bemidji State                 16  pts.