Nationally ranked Bulldogs chosen as GPAC preseason favorite

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 26, 2023 in Baseball

2023 GPAC Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

SEWARD, Neb. – As unveiled by the conference on Thursday (Jan. 26), the Concordia University Baseball team has been chosen as the favorite in the 2023 GPAC Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Bulldogs scooped up eight of the 11 first-place votes and totaled 98 points. Coming in second, 2022 conference regular season champion Doane collected three first-place votes and a total of 91 points. The NAIA’s preseason national poll was released back on Nov. 2 and saw Concordia land at No. 21.

Head Coach Ryan Dupic, assistant coach Caleb Lang and the staff will welcome back 11 of the 12 players that earned all-conference honors in 2022. That group includes first-team honorees in second baseman Jay Adams, outfielder Joey Grabanski, third baseman Jaidan Quinn and starting pitchers Alex Johnson and Caden Johnson. Concordia finished last season at 40-17-1 overall while winning the GPAC tournament championship and coming within one victory of back-to-back trips to the NAIA World Series. Last year’s squad also broke program records for home runs (113) and runs scored (516) in a season.

Under Dupic, the program has won five combined GPAC championships, including three in the regular season and two in the postseason. The highest national ranking in program history was No. 12 following the 2021 run to the NAIA World Series. The ’21 team was ranked in every coaches’ poll from March 17 through the end of that season. While they didn’t break into the top 25, the 2018, 2019 and 2020 squads each received votes nationally at some point during the season. In eight seasons at the helm of the program, Dupic owns an overall record of 242-145-1 with four national tournament appearances.

The 2023 season is slated to et started the weekend of Feb. 11-12 with a trip to Oklahoma City, Okla., where the Bulldogs will take on Oklahoma City University and Bellevue University.

2023 GPAC Baseball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
--First-place votes in parentheses

1. Concordia – 98 (8)
2. Doane – 91 (3)
3. Mount Marty – 74
3. Jamestown – 74
5. Morningside – 59
6. Briar Cliff – 58
7. Northwestern – 54
8. Midland – 39
9. Dordt – 27
10. Dakota Wesleyan – 21
11. Hastings – 10