SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The Yellowjacket baseball team were predicted to finish second in the 2026 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) preseason poll, the circuit announced Thursday.
 
Leading the charge of UMAC coaches was Bethany Lutheran, receiving six-of-seven first place votes with 36 points. Superior returns a triad of all-conference players from last season, including seniors Trey Sybrant (Saint Michael, Minn./Saint Michael-Albertville) and Tanner Voight (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) and junior Josh Pritchard (Surrey, British Columbia/Clayton Heights Secondary).
 
Sybrant capped his junior season with a team-best batting average of .351, adding 27 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .420. Voight swung at a clip of .326 while driving in 28 and slugging at a mark of .546. Pritchard boasted a 4-2 record as a sophomore, logging 42.1 innings and inducing 32 strikeouts.
 
Minnesota Morris was predicted to finish third with 25 points, followed by Northwestern (23) and Crown (19) in fourth and fifth place, respectively. North Central was slotted sixth with nine points while Martin Luther rounds out the league with eight points.
 
The Yellowjackets begin action Saturday, Feb. 21 where they take on Gustavus Adolphus in a doubleheader. The opening pitch is set for 1 p.m. at the Gustie Baseball Field.