SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Yellowjacket baseball team was selected to finish second in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) during 2024, as the circuit released its annual preseason poll in an announcement Thursday.
 
Leading the coaches' poll was reigning UMAC Champion Bethany Lutheran with 49 points, including seven-of-eight first place votes. The Yellowjackets were right behind the Vikings, snagging the final first-place vote with 41 points.
 
The 'Jackets return 25 players from last year's squad, which are highlighted by senior catcher Isaac Fugere (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East), junior outfielder/pitcher Payton Steiner (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo) and sophomore infielder Noah Dagostino (Andover, Minn./Andover).
 
Fugere was named to the All-UMAC First Team last season for the second time in his Yellowjacket career after starting 34-of-36 games. He finished the 2023 campaign batting .325 with a team-leading five homeruns and 27 runs batted in. Defensively Fugere threw out nine runners from behind the plate and carried a .979 fielding percentage.
 
Steiner was another Yellowjacket who was slated to the All-UMAC First Team. As a sophomore he posted a team-third .344 batting average, 23 runs batted in, a team-leading five triples, and a team-second 17 stolen bases while starting 34 games. Steiner scored 36 runs while driving in 23, while defensively posting a .962 fielding percentage. Additionally, he carried a 17-game hitting streak that commenced mid-March.
 
Dagostino, who received an honorable mention citation from the UMAC in his freshman season, played in 34-of-36 games for the Yellowjackets. Defensively he had a fielding percentage of .957, allowing just six errors in 138 chances manning middle infield. Offensively Dagostino batted .288, hitting nine doubles and finishing the season with 18 runs batted in. On the basepaths he led the 'Jackets with 23 stolen bases in 27 attempts.
 
Behind UWS in third place was Crown with 33 points. Right behind the Polars are Northwestern (32) and Minnesota Morris (30) in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Northland finished sixth with 19 points while Martin Luther and North Central are tied for seventh place with 10 points apiece.
 
The Yellowjackets will open their season by traveling to Becker Park on the campus of Saint John's University for a Monday doubleheader. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Collegeville, Minn.