LOCK HAVEN, Pa. — With the 2026 baseball season just over two weeks from opening day, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) released its Preseason Poll, naming ESU the Eastern Division favorite.
 
The Warriors received six of the eight first-place votes, finishing ahead of Millersville (2), West Chester, and Shippensburg to round out the top half of the divisional poll. The final four teams in the east were Shepherd, Bloomsburg, Kutztown, and Mansfield — a near repeat of how the bottom half of the standings finished the season last year with the exception of Kutztown and Mansfield swapping places. On the west, Seton Hill (6) was tabbed as the divisional favorite ahead of Slippery Rock (2). Behind those two were Indiana (Pa.), California (Pa.), Gannon, Clarion, Pitt-Johnstown, and Lock Haven.
 
In the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division II Preseason Rankings, ESU was the top-ranked PSAC team in their initial poll, beginning the season ranked 12^th with 200 points. No. 23 Millersville, No. 28 Seton Hill, and No. T-30 West Chester were the other ranked teams from the conference, while California (Pa.) and Slippery Rock received votes.
 
The Warriors are coming off their first NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Championship, finishing 2025 with a 41-16 record. After three-straight years of being picked to finish third, ESU is viewed as the preseason favorite for the East Division. This is the first time ESU has been ranked first in the PSAC Preseason Poll in the Modern Era, going back to the earliest archived ranking before the 2007 season.
 
ESU returns three of its six All-PSAC selections from last year's team in First Team member Ethan Woods and Second Team members Shanley Wall and Walker Zampella. Woods and Wall were also announced to the NCBWA Preseason All-Atlantic Region Team a day after East Stroudsburg was revealed to be the near-unanimous regional favorite in that poll, finishing ahead of Seton Hill, Millersville, and West Chester.
 
The Warriors begin the season with a trip down to Hampton, Va., where they'll take on No. 19 Felician on back-to-back days before ending the weekend against Molloy. After a little over a month of non-conference play, ESU begins its PSAC schedule against Millersville at Cooper Park on March 20 before hosting the Marauders at Creekview Park the following day.
 
2026 PSAC Preseason Polls (# of first-place votes in parentheses)
Eastern Division

1. East Stroudsburg (6)
2. Millersville (2)
3. West Chester
4. Shippensburg
5. Shepherd
6. Bloomsburg
7. Kutztown
8. Mansfield

 
Western Division

1. Seton Hill (6)
2. Slippery Rock (2)
3. Indiana (Pa.)
4. California (Pa.)
5. Gannon
6. Clarion
7. Pitt-Johnstown
8. Lock Haven