QU baseball team voted by coaches as top choice in GLVC preseason poll

INDIANAPOLIS – Quincy University was voted in the preseason coaches’ poll as the choice to win the 2024 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) baseball championship, the league office announced on Monday.

The preseason poll is determined by the league’s head coaches, who, per GLVC bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their team.
 
Quincy received nine first-place votes and 162 total points. The Hawks are ranked 13th in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II preseason poll, and they are the second-ranked team in Midwest Region Poll. Indianapolis is ranked No. 6 in the national poll.

Taking second in the GLVC preseason poll is Maryville University with 151 points and three first-place votes. Indianapolis garnered 145 points and two first-place nods coming off its run to the Division II World Series in 2023.

Last year’s team won the GLVC regular season title and the fifth GLVC Championship in program history. QU made its eighth straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament and 12th overall. The Hawks advanced to the NCAA Midwest Super Regional as the top seed in the region.

Returning to coach the Hawks this season is Matt Schissel, the reigning GLVC Coach of the Year. He enters his third season and was named NCBWA D-II Coach of the Year after QU posted a 27-5 GLVC record and program-best 47 victories in 2023.

Back for the Hawks are All-GLVC first-team selections Dustin Dupont and Austin Simpson. Dupont earned a spot on the D2CCA All-Midwest Region second team, and Simpson was a second-team honoree on the ABCA All-Midwest Region squad last year. Dupont, who caught and played third base last season, batted .369 with 11 home runs and 51 runs batted in. Simpson, a designated hitter, hit .343 with 19 home runs and 61 runs batted in. 

Last year’s team tied the Division II all-time single-season team home run mark of 131 set by West Georgia in 1998.

The Hawks kick off this year’s campaign with a three-game set in Dahlonega, Ga., against North Georgia on Feb. 16.

GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll

Place	School	Points (1st-Place Votes)
1.	Quincy	162 (9)
2.	Maryville	151 (3)
3.	Indianapolis	145 (2)
4.	Drury	130
5.	Illinois-Springfield	118
6.	Lewis	114
7.	William Jewell	97
8.	Missouri-St. Louis	84
9.	Missouri S&T	83
10.	McKendree	56
11.	Truman State	47
12.	Rockhurst	39
13.	Southwest Baptist	26
14.	Upper Iowa	22