Central Oklahoma Picked Third In MIAA Baseball Poll

Bronchos Open 2026 Season February 3 In Shawnee

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Central Oklahoma was picked third in the MIAA Baseball Coaches' Preseason Poll announced Friday.

Central Missouri was picked first and received 12 of 13 first-place votes. Pittsburg State was second, Missouri Southern was fourth and received the other first-place vote. Washburn rounded out the top five.

Fort Hays State, Rogers State, Emporia State, Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western are sixth through 10th. Northeastern State, Arkansas Fort Smith, and Newman are the last three in the poll.

UCM won the regular season MIAA title last year and were the eventual NCAA Division II Baseball Championship national runner-up team, losing to Tampa in the finals. UCO won the MIAA Baseball Championship postseason tournament for the first time since joining the league in 2012. The Bronchos also won a regular season title in 2018.

The 2026 season marks the first year under new head coach Robbie Rea, who was promoted in August after spending the past three seasons as the lead assistant coach and UCO's pitching coach. Rea has just two position players back that appeared in a game last season, with four others returning after sitting out last season. UCO also has seven pitchers returning from last year's squad.

The Bronchos open the new year on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at Oklahoma Baptist. UCO opens the gates to Wendell Simmons Field for the eighth annual Edmond First Pitch Classic Feb. 5-8 with four games in as many days.

Central plays 14 non-conference games in the first three weeks of the season. UCO plays 36 MIAA games after that, half of them at home in Edmond.

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