SUWANEE, Ga. - Concordia University (Tex.) has been tabbed as the favorite to take home the 2026 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball title, based on preseason balloting from the league’s head coaches.
Concordia (Tex.), who advanced to the NCAA regional final a season ago after finishing runner-up at the SCAC Tournament Championship, totaled eight first-place votes to top the coaches' poll with 116 points. McMurry, who won its first NCAA regional in program history and earned a trip to the Super Regionals in 2025, claimed the final three first-place votes to finish second in the preseason rankings with 111 points. Rounding out the top three was St. Thomas (Tex.) who garnered 94 points in the poll after posting 19 wins a season ago.
Texas Lutheran sits in fourth place with 83 points after narrowly missing the stacked conference tournament field in 2025. Newcomer Hendrix makes the top-five with 74 points to land at fifth. The Warriors rejoin the league for the first time since the 2012 season, after four previous conference tournament appearances and one league title in 2009.
Centenary, who has claimed two of the last four tournament titles, secured sixth place with 67 points. LeTourneau makes their debut in the SCAC in 2026 and landed in seventh with 59 points after a 23-win season a year ago. Ozarks (Ark.) returns for its second year in the SCAC with 41 points and takes eighth in the preseason poll.
Rounding out the coaches’ selections were Schreiner with 33 points in ninth place, Austin College, which posted its highest SCAC win total in program history last season, finished 10th with 25 points and Dallas totaled 23 points to finish 11th.
Concordia (Tex.) opens the 2026 season receiving votes in the D3baseball.com Preseason Top 25 poll after a 35-13 season in 2025 and reaching the SCAC Championship final. The Tornados had seven All-Region selections a year ago after placing 12 on the SCAC All-Conference listing. Concordia (Tex.) ranked top-three in the league in nearly every offensive statistical category in 2025 and, are the top returning team in home runs (53), RBI (372) and slugging percentage (.476).
Concordia (Tex.) is led by Head Coach Clink Mokry, who enters his fourth season at the helm of the Tornados program after serving the previous 12 years on staff. The Tornados have totaled an 88-48 record in three seasons under Mokry with an ASC Championship in 2024 and a pair of NCAA regional appearances each of the last two seasons.
The 2026 SCAC baseball season begins on February 6th, while the first conference series of the year are scheduled for Friday, February 13th. The 2026 SCAC Baseball Tournament will be held at The Depot at Cleburne Station in Cleburne, Texas as the double-elimination tournament will begin on April 30.
| 2026 SCAC Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll (first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points) |
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| 1. | Concordia University (Tex.) (8) | 116 |
| 2. | McMurry University (3) | 111 |
| 3. | University of St. Thomas (Tex.) | 94 |
| 4. | Texas Lutheran University | 83 |
| 5. | Hendrix College | 74 |
| 6. | Centenary College | 67 |
| 7. | LeTourneau University | 59 |
| 8. | University of the Ozarks | 41 |
| 9. | Schreiner University | 33 |
| 10. | Austin College | 25 |
| 11. | University of Dallas | 23 |
