HUDSONVILLE, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) unveiled the 2024 baseball preseason coaches poll. The Trine University baseball team found themselves ranked sixth in the conference.
The Thunder had 17 points, one ahead of seventh-place Albion College. Adrian College and Kalamazoo College were tied atop the poll with 44 points each, but the Bulldogs recorded one more first-place vote, a 4-3 difference. Alma College collected the final available first-place vote in third.
Under the direction of Head Coach Greg Perschke, Trine was 15-24 in the 2023 campaign and 6-15 inside the league. The Thunder were seventh in the conference standings last season. This year, the program will be looking for their 300th win as an NCAA DIII institution and their 200th victory as a member of the MIAA. Coach Perschke is entering his 23rd season at the helm of the program, the winningest coach in Trine baseball history.
The Thunder will lean heavily on a veteran pitching staff that features the top six returning inning eaters from 2023. Senior right-handers Josh Hoogewerf, Cam Nagel and Kade Keele as well as junior right-hander Noah Brettin return as well as southpaws in sophomore Jack Villarreal and senior Cole Decker. Hoogewerf was a Second Team All-MIAA member in the 2022 season and led the team in wins (4), innings pitched (61.0) and strikeouts (55) with two complete games last year.
There will be new faces in the Trine lineup offensively, but a few staples from 2023 will get time as well. After missing time last season due to injury, senior infielder Dalton Nikirk will be back on the field in 2024 along with senior outfielder Daniel Rumberger and junior infielder Joel Walton.
The Thunder kick off their season on the road on the weekend of February 24-25 with a three-game series at Anderson University.