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This year's preseason coaches' poll were released Wednesday morning. Voted by all 12 head coaches around the MAC Kent State was selected to win the MAC and Ball State to claim the MAC West.
| West | East |
| Ball State, 67 points (8 first place votes) | Kent State, 68 (8) |
| Central Michigan, 55 (2) | Miami, 59 (3) |
| Western Michigan, 46 (1) | Akron, 41 |
| Toledo, 43 (1) | Bowling Green, 38 (1) |
| Eastern Michigan, 23 | Buffalo, 27 |
| Northern Illinois, 18 | Ohio, 19 |
This is the fifth year in a row where Kent State was picked Last year, Kent State won the MAC Tournament as a 4-seed, finishing the regular season behind the Miami RedHawks in the MAC East standings. D1Baseball and Baseball America have both picked the Golden Flashes to be in the field of 64 for postseason play this year.
Ball State won MAC Regular Season Championship last year after finishing with a 39-18 overall and 22-4 in-conference record. "It is always good to be recognized by your peers as having a solid team," Cardinals head coach Rich Maloney said (per Ball State's press release). "But the only poll that matters is the one at the end of the year."
Both Kent State and Ball State enter the season as nationally-ranked teams, no. 30 and 31, respectively. College baseball season begins Friday, February 13.