Cedar Rapids, Iowa - Results of the American Rivers Conference's Baseball Preseason Poll (as voted on by the league's head coaches): 
 

2020 American Rivers Conference Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank	School (1st place votes)	Points	2019 Record
1.	Coe College (7)	63	37-8 OA, 22-2 CONF (A-R-C Regular Season Champions)
2.	Buena Vista University (2)	58	26-19 OA, 15-9 CONF (A-R-C Tournament Champions)
3.	Luther College	46	23-20 OA, 15-9 CONF
4.	University of Dubuque	37	26-15-1 OA, 12-11 CONF
t-5.	Central College	33	24-16 OA, 11-13 CONF
t-5.	Wartburg College	33	13-26 OA, 9-15 CONF
t-7.	Loras College	23	16-20 OA, 10-14 CONF
t-7.	Simpson College	23	13-23 OA, 5-19 CONF
9.	Nebraska Wesleyan University	8	10-25 OA, 8-15 CONF

National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)/D3baseball.com Rankings: After a 37-8 2019 record and a NCAA Super Regionals appearance, the Kohawks of Coe College find themselves ranked 18th by D3baseball.com in the preseason rankings heading into the 2020 season. Buena Vista, after snagging the 2019 A-R-C automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament, will begin the 2020 season receiving votes by D3baseball.com. 

New Coaches: John Rypel (Nebraska Wesleyan) - Rypel comes to Nebraska Wesleyan after spending a year at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) where he served as the Director of Baseball Operations for the Blazers in 2019. Rypel brings a wealth of experience at the DIII level to Lincoln, Neb., most recently serving as the Head Coach at Calvin University (Mich.) out of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).Prior to Calvin, he spent four seasons as the Head Coach at Gordon College (Mass.). While at Gordon, Rypel also spent two summers as the head coach of the Marauders in the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Baseball League. He arrived at Gordon after spending four years as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Maryville College in Tennessee. Rypel's playing days included stints at Cuyahoga Community College, King College and Shawnee State University. He earned his undergraduate degree from Carson Newman College and also holds a master's degree in sports science.

The Schedule: American Rivers Conference play consists of a 24-game round-robin season with three game series vs. each school. The 2020 American Rivers schedule begins the weekend of March 20-21 with Buena Vista hosting Simpson, Wartburg traveling to Dubuque and Nebraska Wesleyan hosting to Loras. Central and Coe will play their conference series at a neutral site in Orlando, Fla. on March 20-21. Luther will host its first league series on March 27-28, where they will face Dubuque.  

Conference Tournament: The 2020 American Rivers Conference Tournament will be held May 7-9 on Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The winner of the double-elimination tournament will receive the Conference's automatic berth in the 2020 NCAA Division III Baseball tournament. 

NCAA Division III College World Series: The American Rivers Conference and Cedar Rapids Tourism will be the hosts for the 2019 - 2022 NCAA Division III World Series, with the championship being played at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium.  The 2020 Championships will take place Friday, May 29 - Wednesday, June 3. Check back to rollrivers.com at the end of February for the tournament page and ticket information. 
 

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* Please note, only returners are listed in the "By the Numbers" sections
 

No.1 Coe College Head Coach: Steve Cook - 24th season at Coe (517-438) 2019 Conference Finish: A-R-C Regular Season Champions 2019 Record: 37-8 OA (22-2 A-R-C) 2019 NCAA Tournament:  - Defeated Aurora (Ill.) 10-1 [Regional]  - Defeated Washington University-St. Louis 5-3 [Regional]  - Lost to Washington University-St. Louis 10-5 [Regional]  - Defeated Washington University-St. Louis 4-3 [Regional]  - Lost to Birmingham-Southern (Ala.) 6-4 - F/12 [Super Regionals]  - Lost to Birmingham-Southern (Ala.) 11-2 [Super Regionals] Position Players Returning/Lost: 5/4 Pitchers Returning/Lost: 9/1 Letter winners Returning/Lost: 15/9 All-Conf. Returning: Zach Kammin (Sr., P), Jack Greene (Sr., P), Drew Schmit (Sr., P), TJ Johnson (Jr., UTL), Jordan Kaplan (Sr., 1B), Riley LeGrand (Jr., OF), Daniel Berger (Jr., C) All-Conf. Lost: Kevin DeLaney, Jacob Burns, Nolan Arp Returning Players to Watch: Zach Kammin (Sr., P), Jack Greene (Sr., P), Drew Schmit (Sr., P), TJ Johnson (Jr., UTL), Jordan Kaplan (Sr., 1B), Riley LeGrand (Jr., OF), Daniel Berger (Jr., C), TJ Deardorff (Jr., P/2B), Jacob Henry (Sr., 3B) Steve Cook - "We're excited for the start of the 2020 season. As always, the conference will prove to be competitive and balanced with quality players across the nine teams. Looking forward to the tough conference schedule, we know that we will have to find a new identity offensively and rely on our pitching and defense consistency if we want to have a successful season."

 

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No.2 Buena Vista University  Head Coach: Steve Eddie - 20th season at BVU (438-333-2) 2019 Conference Finish: T-2nd, A-R-C Tournament Champions 2019 Record: 26-19 OA (15-9 A-R-C) 2019 NCAA Tournament:  - Lost to Concordia-Chicago 2-0 [Regional]  - Defeated St. John's (Minn.) 7-3 [Regional]  - Lost to Concordia-Chicago [Regional] Position Players Returning/Lost: 6/3 Pitchers Returning/Lost: 7/3 Letter winners Returning/Lost: 18/7 All-Conf. Returning: Bryce Rheault (Sr., INF), Gage Smart (Sr., LHP) All-Conf. Lost: Egna Bonde (P), Peyton Renning (OF), Noah Paper (INF) Returning Players to Watch: Bryce Rheault (Sr., INF), Gage Smart (Sr., LHP), Tyler Tennyson (Sr., P/OF), Nick Henrichs (Jr., P/OF), Eric LaRue (Jr., P), Coleman Roberts (Jr., OF), Joe Rock (Sr., 1B) Steve Eddie - "We return a good group of veterans who grew up a lot last year. We lost some key components to graduation, at some pretty important spots. We will need some guys to step up and take a little more responsibility this year. I am looking forward to seeing how this team competes and how quickly they come together as a group.”

 

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No.3 Luther College Head Coach: Bryan Nikkel - 6th season at Luther (130-90) 2019 Conference Finish: T-2nd 2019 Record: 23-20 OA (15-9 A-R-C) Position Players Returning/Lost: 4/4 Pitchers Returning/Lost: 6/3 Letter winners Returning/Lost: 22/10 All-Conf. Returning: Luke Plunkett (So., C), John Colucci III (So., RHP) All-Conf. Lost: Luke Plunkett (C), John Colucci III (RHP), Jake Halverson (SS), Bryce Hingst 3B), Jake Vogt (CF), Trent Athmann (RF), Joey Cardaman (P), Colin Coffey (P) Returning Players to Watch: Luke Plunkett, Owen Vander Linden, Kyle Bode, Collin Chalmers Bryan Nikkel - "I am excited to see guys step into new roles both at the plate and on the mound. We will have some very familiar faces in our lineup and some new ones. Many of the new names have been paying their dues the last couple of years and we are more than ready for this opportunity. Same goes for on the mound, we will need some guys to step up into major roles. The A-R-C has proven to be a dog fight year in and year out and I expect this year to be no different."

2019 Team Stolen Bases (Conf. Games Only)
School	SB-ATT
Luther	55-68
Coe	40-49
Dubuque	35-44
Loras	34-41
Buena Vista	30-38
Central	28-45
Nebraska Wesleyan	17-23
Simpson	14-28
Wartburg	13-20
* The Norse led the A-R-C in stolen bases by a staggering 15 bags in 2019. Luther returns only one of three Norse in the top-5 in stolen bases, that being senior Kelby Johnson, who was fourth in the A-R-C in 2019 with 12. Second-year catcher, Luke Plunkett will look to best his .374 conference batting average from a season ago. An average that ranked fifth in the conference. John Colucci III will look to continue his dominance on the mound in 2020, after posting the leagues' third-best ERA (1.823) in 2019 A-R-C action.

 

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2019 Walks Earned (Conf. Games Only)
School	Walks
Dubuque	105
Luther	88
Central	85
Coe	81
Nebraska Wesleyan	81
Simpson	74
Buena Vista	69
Wartburg	64
Loras	61
* The Spartans recorded a conference-leading 105 walks in 2019, proving to be a very disciplined and patient team at the plate. Dubuque had 13 more walks than second place, Luther. The Spartans return Kellen Mitchell who led the conference with 19 walks in 2019. Mitchell also owned the Spartans top batting average (.328) a season ago and ranked 19th in the league. All-Conference performer, JJ Valencia returns for his senior campaign. The speedster stole eight bags during 2019 conference play.

 

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Tied-No.7 Loras College Head Coach: Carl Tebon - 25th season at Loras (533-513-4) 2019 Conference Finish: 6th 2019 Record: 16-20 OA (10-14 A-R-C) Position Players Returning/Lost: 4/5 Pitchers Returning/Lost: 12/1 Letter winners Returning/Lost: N/A All-Conf. Returning: Dylan Pardoe (Jr., 3B) All-Conf. Lost: Austin Konagel Returning Players to Watch: Dylan Pardoe, Luke Fennelly, Joe Egan, Tanner Fallon, Sam Marhefke, Curtis Lilienthal Carl Tebon - "We lost 21 seniors in the last two years and nine from 2019. We return our key arms on the mound and are looking forward to seeing some position players step up. It looks like most teams in conference lost some key players. We are looking forward to competing in the always tough A-R-C."

 

Tied-No.7 Simpson College Head Coach: Nathan Roling - 4th season at Simpson (28-80) 2019 Conference Finish: 9th 2019 Record: 13-23 OA (5-19 A-R-C) Position Players Returning/Lost: 8/3 Pitchers Returning/Lost: 5/1 Letter winners Returning/Lost: 13/6 All-Conf. Returning: Truman Schmitt (Sr., C/DH), Brady Held (So., RHP/OF) All-Conf. Lost: Devin Creger Returning Players to Watch: Truman Schmitt (Sr., C/DH), Brady Held (So., P/OF) Nathan Roling - “Our group has a lot to prove, which has our guys motivated and excited. We feel good about the number of returners we have and the maturity we have gained after a youthful challenge in 2019. Our success will depend on how we continue to grow and compete in this first-rate conference. We feel our lineup should be an area of strength early in the season, with the depth and impact bats returning. Our pitching staff is motivated to prove themselves and build on the experience gained. The A-R-C is strong again this year, especially at the top with Coe and Buena Vista. We are excited to be one of the teams looking to fit into the mix.”

2019 Team Hits (Conf. Games Only)
School	Hits
Coe	280
Luther	246
Buena Vista	234
Simpson	216
Central	212
Wartburg	207
Loras	204
Nebraska Wesleyan	204
Dubuque	158
* Simpson returns their top two hitters from a season ago, senior Truman Schmitt (2nd Team All-Conference in 2019) and junior Kolton Arnold. Arnold led the team in hits with 32 in conference play, which ranked 10th in the A-R-C. Schmitt was right behind with 31 hits, two of which were long balls. As a team, the Storm collected 216 hits in conference play and 336 during the 2019 campaign as a whole.

 

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