Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Mesa is the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) baseball favorite, the league announced Tuesday in its 2022 RMAC preseason baseball poll announcement. The RMAC preseason baseball poll is voted on by the league’s nine head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own squad.
 
After claiming the 2021 RMAC regular-season title, Colorado Mesa enters the 2022 campaign as the league favorite after claiming 64 points and eight first-place votes. The Mavericks were tabbed 2022 preseason No. 2 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and preseason No. 4 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America. Colorado Mesa is loaded with talent as reigning D2CCA and RMAC Player of the Year Haydn McGeary and RMAC Co-Freshman Pitcher of the Year Kannon Handy are set to return for the Mavs. Chris Hanks will aim to have his team in prime form as the Mavericks are coming off of their 12th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and their 20th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history last season.
 
University of Colorado Colorado Springs occupies the second-place position with 53 points and one first-place vote after clinching the 2021 RMAC Tournament championship, the first in program history. After securing the tournament title, the Mountain Lions made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, scoring a combined 15 runs in their two games. UCCS found extra bases with relative ease and closed the 2021 campaign ranked fifth in the nation for doubles (121), second in the nation in doubles per game (2.81) and second nationally with a .612 slugging percentage. Head coach Dave Hajek looks to build upon a team that averaged 9.8 runs per game and registered a .348 team batting average last season.
 
Metropolitan State University of Denver checks in at the third-place spot with 52 points after concluding the 2021 season with a 34-10 overall record and a 28-8 mark in RMAC play. Reichle Arcilise returns for the Roadrunners after being named the 2021 RMAC Co-Freshman Pitcher of the Year. As a team, MSU Denver ranked among the nation’s top-10 programs in nine categories, including home runs (81), on-base percentage (.433) and runs scored (428), to name a few.
 
Regis checks in next with 41 points for the fourth-place position. Colorado School of Mines and Colorado State University Pueblo are tied for fifth place after earning 32 points apiece in preseason voting. Colorado Christian sits seventh overall with 23 points, while New Mexico Highlands (18 points) and Adams State (9 points) round out the preseason poll.
 
The 2022 baseball season begins Thursday, Feb. 3, while conference play is slated to start Friday, March 4. The 2022 RMAC Tournament will take place May 11-14 on the campus of the tournament’s highest-ranked seed.